Pragmatic
by Electric Risk
Summary: AU- After overthrowing his brother, Fire Lord Iroh finally ended the war. Some were willing to negotiate peace, others were not so quick to forgive. An arranged match seems to be the solution, that is, if Katara can quell the urge to kill her intended.Z/K
1. Prolog

**AN:** This Prolog has been heavily edited and revised. The original was... well... not good. It was long and dry and the diction was unnatural. The re-write is still a bit long, but I hope it's more entertaining and has a slightly different feel to it. And yeah, the whole thing is basically a big cheater move for me to ease into the AU environment I've created. Because in case the summary didn't clue you in, that's what this is. An AU.

I will be going through each already posted chapter and making edits and revisions (and I will do ALL of them before a new chapter is added...). The backbone should remain the same, but the quality should be upped a bit, and the potential for plot-holes will hopefully be significantly diminished.

**This edit was uploaded December 18, 2011.**

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**Pragmatic**

_An A:TLA Fic brought to you by:_

_Electric Risk_

Prolog

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_Katara; Daughter of Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe_

When I was a little girl, my mother used to tell me fairytales. They always began "Once upon a time." They were always magical and romantic, and full of adventure and danger. There was always a prince and and always a princess, and always, _always_ a "happily ever after." I used to dream about becoming one of those daring girls from her stories, because the way my mother told them, it was always the girl doing the rescuing, and finding true love.

Of course, hearing a story is one thing. Living it, I've come to find, is something else all together…

Once upon a time, there was a war that waged for years and years. One by one, all the men in the Southern Water Tribe went off to fight. The village fell to shambles and the Fire Nation raids left its people devastated. This Great War raged for one-hundred years and seemed like it would never end… but one day, finally, it did. The Fire Lord was overthrown by his older brother, a disgraced war general, with the Fire Lord's eldest child, the crown price, at his side, and together the set the world to rights again… Or tried to. Some say it was too little, too late. Others are so tired of war that they refuse to consider picking up arms again.

I was only fifteen when it ended. I'd lost my mother to a raid when I was still very much a child, and was the last remaining waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe. The rest of my would-be-peers were kidnapped or killed, mostly before I was born. I was forced to teach myself whenever I could find the time, and there wasn't much. Since my father had gone off to fight and my mother was long dead, the job of caretaking my brother and I fell to my maternal grandmother, Gran-Gran. She, being old though very hail, and the village needed my and Sokka's help - each year the responsibilities seemed to double. It wasn't much of a childhood, the way we lived, but at least keeping myself busy with chores gave me a way to keep my mind off of the frontlines, and whether or not I would ever see my father again.

During the day we always spoke in affirmations; "When the war ends…", or "When the men come home…" But at night, all I had were nightmares.

Many of our men did die in the Great War, reducing the majority of our population to the very old and the very young. But Sokka and I were lucky; our dad made it back home. Mostly, he was alright. He was in good spirits and seemed very happy, if tired. Still, he'd lost an eye and was left with a long, jagged scar down the right side of his face. Even though he took to wearing an eye patch, the scar was an ever-present reminder of what he'd seen and suffered. Dad never wanted to talk about it, but this didn't bother me. I had little interest in asking questions anyway because it wasn't hard to guess that he lost it at the hands of a Fire Nation soldier. I'm just thankful that was all he lost.

Though he'd been gone for years, he slipped back into father-mode quickly… if a little uneasily. Gran-Gran always said I had problems with authority, but then I especially had issues with _her_ authority during his absence.

Gran-Gran had the most wonderful stories (almost as good as my mother's fairytales), good advice, and was excellent at putting Sokka in his place, but she was very prone to being overprotective. I know that she'd seen more hardship in her life than I can imagine, but that didn't make it any easier for me. She treated me like glass and disapproved of my waterbending, afraid it would "get me into trouble" some day. The Fire Nation used to believe the Avatar cycle had continued into the waterbenders and they tried their hardest to flush us out and eliminate whoever could be deemed a "threat". It took fifty years for them to realize their mistake and longer still for them to give up. Who or where the Avatar is remains a mystery, but, regardless, the Fire Nation no longer had any interest in hunting waterbenders. What's more, our tiny, dilapidated village wasn't worth targeting. I had nothing to fear, and neither did Gran-Gran – not that she'd listen to reason. What she didn't understand was that to deny bending was like denying the body oxygen. Not a moment passed while I was at home when I couldn't feel the tug of the ocean and the pull of the moon, pulsing like the blood in my veins.

Dad resumed his place as Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, a position which had only been strengthened by his wartime exploits. He also arranged tutelage for me under a waterbending master. This master was from the North and his name was Kuto. I'm told he studied under a veritable waterbending legend in the Northern Water Tribe and, dad told me, that his skills had been plenty tested during the war.

To be blunt, if I hadn't been so desperate for a proper education, I would've sooner sent Master Kuto adrift on a rouge iceberg than give him the time of day. My dad had to call in a favor in order to convince him to train me, what with my being such a pitiable, not-as-fit-for-learning _girl_. He became more amenable to the idea, I think, when he realized he could use it as a campaign to humiliate me. Apparently in the great and advanced North, women are considered too delicately natured to learn defensive and offensive moves, to learn anything other than to heal wounds or midwifery. I'd never been treated like that before; resources were so scarce here in the South that we couldn't afford to exercise such stupid policies. I mean, sure, Gran-Gran was a bit too protective, but it had nothing to do with my sex and everything to do with a war full of blood thirsty, waterbender hating Fire Nation soldiers.

But Kuto was all I had and as long as he was willing to teach me, I was going to learn.

Once I became his student, and once he'd put me in my place more times than I care to say, I developed a begrudging respect for the man. My dad hadn't lied; Kuto was talented, and not just in combat either. Men didn't normally learn how to heal, but as women _couldn't possibly_ be of any use in battle, Kuto learned that particular art out of necessity. But… that said, I was pretty talented too. I reached master status myself in only a few short months. Master Kuto accounted it to the nearly sixteen years build-up of latent bending energy that I hadn't been properly trained to release before. Still, even Master Kuto admitted it was "mildly impressive _for a girl_", which was the closest thing to a compliment I'd ever gotten from him.

Life was fantastic, idyllic even. With our family reunited, the village slowly rebuilding, and my waterbending mastered, my dad decided we should take a world tour of sorts. It was supposed to be an extended expedition to other cities and nations meant to educate Sokka and I, to show us other ways of life. Dad didn't directly say it, but I think he wanted particularly to give Sokka a broadened outlook on the world because someday he will take our dad's place as chief –hopefully a long, long time from now. Sokka was of course crazy with excitement (I can't say that I wasn't either). He said he was looking forward to finding and learning foreign combat styles, but I have a hunch he was far more interested in finding foreign girls.

My poor brother (and poor me too, for that matter). When the men left for the war, my brother had been the eldest male and I had been the closest to him in age, the oldest girl-child. Only the elderly, mothers and their very young children were left. No other girls had been around Sokka's age (just as there had been no boys around mine). Now that he was past the age of marriage (sixteen for boys, fifteen for girls), he felt altogether deprived. On occasion he liked to inform me what a "lady's man" he would be, if ever given the proper opportunity. I was unconvinced.

I was under the impression that no girl, regardless of nationality, could stand my brother and his utter pig-like male chauvinism, which only got worse while dad was gone, making Sokka "the man" of the village. I had developed my own shoddy version of the water whip during those war days for the sole purpose of putting him in his place whenever he overstepped his bounds. Which, lucky for my bending practice, was obscenely often.

My dad's eye made it difficult for him to man our boat (a decommissioned war vessel), even with my brother's and my help. So it was decided that my dad's good friend Bato would join us. (Master Kuto was left in charge of the village during our absence, even though I protested every chance I got. It took dad three days to convince me that Kuto wouldn't immediately begin to oppress women once we left.) Sokka and I weren't disappointed with the addition of Bato; the man was like an uncle to us. We'd felt so grateful when he, too, had returned from the war in good health.

Together, we embarked on the first leg of our journey to the Earth Kingdom. We decided to leave in late summer as the waters were still somewhat temperate. It also allowed us to arrive in warmer climates before the onset of harsher weather at home. The day we left was clear and crisp. I still remember hearing the water lapping at our boat and feel the wind tug it to life, the excitement I felt at leaving home for the very first time. I took to life on the boat like a fish to water, and loved the places we visited even more.

The trip had another benefit: Sokka and I got the chance to really reconnect with our dad. It was kind of amazing to see how similar Sokka and dad could be at times (they both had the wit of dried seaweed, Bato once said). During the War Sokka seemed to take the weight of the world on his shoulders, so it was great to see him finally start to relax a little. We talked of the brief, good times before the War drove them to fight and how good life would be now that it was all over. I wondered if my dad would ever remarry, but hadn't had the courage to ask him. I didn't want to think of him still sad and mourning our mother, or, even worse, that he intended to look for a new wife as soon as we were settled.

It was during our visit to the Kyoshi Island that things really got interesting. My brother openly insulted the much-famed Kyoshi Warriors as they trained in their dojo (I don't know all the details, but I believe he referred to their training as "dance practice"). Allow me, at this point, to reiterate one very obvious point: Sokka is a pig.

The Kyoshi Warriors, as most know, are a band of fighters formed entirely of women. After their leader put Sokka in his place (multiple times) in hand-to-hand combat, he finally admitted their superiority and shocked everyone by asking to be taken on as a student. He even agreed to wear the ceremonial garb, which was essentially an armored dress complete with very feminine war make up. I had a local artist take a very unflattering rendering of him for future blackmailing purposes, if the need ever arose. My dad called me a "cruel opportunist", but the look on Sokka's face when he found out about it was absolutely priceless. …I never told Sokka, but I really was proud of him. There may be hope for him yet.

Suki, the leader who defeated Sokka with dazzling humiliation, decided after befriending all of us to join our trip to see the world. My dad and Bato eagerly agreed because they felt I could use a female friend and Suki was around my age. We got along well, but it soon became evident that she got along far better with Sokka. I was a little shocked when she confided in me her crush on my brother, but evidently they forged some kind of mutual respect during the time they trained together. I was happy for my brother, if not a little baffled that he could win the affections of someone so full of female empowerment. It made me wonder if there was more to Sokka than I realized and I hoped that Suki would have a good influence on him.

I enjoyed watching them coexist awkwardly in the first days of their courtship, neither sure what to do with their feelings because neither had been in this position before. Once, on dad's orders (he, too, as it turned out, had an over protective streak in him), I followed the two of them as they went off together in a port town we stopped in to re-supply our ship. I watched them hold hands and speak in soft tones to each other, smiling at each other like there was nothing in the world better to look at. I decided, as my brother leaned in to kiss her in a deserted corridor, that my job as my dad's spy was over. I had no right to intrude on Sokka's special moments… nor did I have any particular desire to see my big brother suck face. When I got back to the ship I just told dad they held hands and blushed like mad every time someone commented on the "cute couple", which was what used to happen. They got acclimated to the concept of each other as a couple fast.

For some reason, seeing them so happy together upset me. Don't get me wrong; I was thrilled that my brother fell in love, and with a girl who would never let him get away with anything, but... it made me all too aware that I didn't have anyone. That hadn't ever bothered me much before. Yes, I had always been a romantic, inspired by the love stories my mother and Gran-Gran used to tell me, but love always was something far away that I could dream about. It was always something to look forward to when I was older, wiser, and had some sort of "come-hither" quality about me. But as I saw Suki, who was scarcely older than I, and Sokka who was only a year older than her, so in love, I realized that I _was_ older. It hit me like one of Kuto's water whips to the face that I had been of marrying age for nearly a year and I was neither wise nor in possession of the coveted "come-hither" flare.

I moped for days after the realization hit, sighing constantly and driving my dad crazy. My dad then deduced that I was homesick and Bato agreed, (therefore taking both their rightful places among Men Who Cannot for the Life of Them Understand Women). Dad then decided that we had seen enough of the world, declaring it was time to return home. Sokka protested, since we had only toured half the coast of the Earth Kingdom and hadn't even made it inland to the big cities of Ba Sing Se and Omashu, and he only relented after dad promised we could take another tour next summer, provided the village could manage. Bato even agreed to come out with us again saying that after traveling so much during the War, he didn't think he could ever settle for staying in one location too long. By this point we had been gone for two months, and it would be edging into winter upon our return, which meant choppier seas. I was more than happy to help out, however, smoothing the way for our boat with bending.

Suki came home with us, claiming that it was because she was so curious about the Water Tribes and she had little to lay claim to back at Kyoshi. She had already named a successor as the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, and she had no family left to speak of. Knowing glances passed between my dad, Bato, and I. We all knew that, while she gave very valid reasons, her true desire to return with us rested entirely with Sokka. They were completely moonstruck with each other. Still, we welcomed her with open arms. She had become a part of our family in the month she traveled with us, and Sokka always seemed to be on his best behavior because of her. It was refreshing.

I never did have the heart to tell my dad the real reason I was acting so miserable. It was embarrassing to admit that I was behaving so downtrodden because I had never been in love before. Fifteen was still young! Sixteen was young, too! I had a whole life ahead of me to have tons of steamy love affairs (I especially did not want to admit to my dad my girlish desire of "steamy love affairs", for several obvious reasons.) Still, I didn't mind returning home. I missed Gran-Gran and, had the itch to go penguin sledding, though I haven't done it since I was little.

We stopped at one last port to restock for the journey home, the small Makapu village that sat at the foot of a massive volcano. That was where I met the clairvoyant Aunt Wu. She fell into my favor immediately for an assortment of reasons; one being that Sokka detested the town and their reliance on her "fortune telling hoo-haw" (in large part because Aunt Wu told him he would lead a life of self-inflicted miseries, just based off of his face) and another being that she told me about my future love life.

"I feel a great romance for you," she said, "You will marry a powerful bender."

Needless to say, having my crisis ironed out like that was a huge relief. I wouldn't have to worry because eventually a "great romance" would find me and it would be with a "powerful bender" to boot. After that, I visited Aunt Wu every chance I got until we left. Near the end of our stay though, I started to get the feeling that the psychic was getting a little annoyed with my ever-ready questions. Personally, I believe that she should have been prepared for it, I mean, who else could I ask? Still, I left the port town with elevated spirits and the knowledge that my nonexistent love life would not be permanent. My dad assumed I was happy because we were returning home, but I didn't see any need to correct him.

This partial world tour with my dad, Bato, brother, and who I could only assume to be my future sister-in-law left me with a good sense of self and a deep peace. Life would come and I would greet it with open arms because I was a water-bending master with a great love on the horizon and a reunited family. I was entering a new world of peace and rehabilitation. The future only looked bright, like an always full moon.

Yet, as our home came into view, my stomach turned to lead and ice. Marring the horizon was a Fire Nation warship, black and imposing. For years the sight of those ships only meant death and destruction. Many lay wrecked in the ice drifts surrounding our village as permanent reminders of the hell and darkness that plagued us in the past. Those ships were fossils of a bleak time and seeing one again, so imposing and so alive made me wonder if those times truly ever left.

In a way, I suppose they hadn't.

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** - Quick side note - **I wanted to make the prologue similar to the show's opening with Katara's narration. And like the show, Katara's perspective ends with the opening. The remaining chapters will all be written in third person.

As per the trend of most stories, the plot progresses with each chapter... which should yield more interesting things to come.

Love,

ER


	2. An Invitation

**AN: Oh dear, oh dear.** This chapter was in desperate need of some cleaning up. Can you imagine traipsing about in silk in a frozen tundra? Apparently I hadn't, because that's what I had everyone wearing (beneath thick furs, but the fact remains the same). Also, I made Katara a hair too gushy about a dress. Don't get me wrong, she likes pretty things and all, but the attitude in the context was allllll wrong. Besides, she'll have another opportunity to traipse about in silk later... perhaps somewhere a bit warmer...

Anyhoo, editing has been done. Quality has been upped. And yeah. It only took me around six or so months to get this chapter re-vamped. Whatev's.

**The point is that it was done! (As of 12-18-2011)  
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**Pragmatic**

_An A:TLA Fic brought to you by:_

_Electric Risk_

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**Arc I**: Ice

**Scroll One**: An Invitation

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The sun gleamed off of the hull of the impertinent Fire Nation ship. It was a huge monster of a thing, dominating the tiny huts and homes of the village like a beast poised before its prey. The unseasonably clear day made everything unnervingly still, the low sun casting a harsh glare off the bright white snow. Katara, Sokka, Chief Hakoda, Suki, and Bato stared silently at the ship, no one voicing the troubled thoughts all coursing through their minds. No one wanted to admit that its presence was unwelcome, regardless of the peace the Fire Nation claimed it wanted to make. None of them knew what to make of it, this scene that welcomed them home.

Once the group disembarked, two figures waited to greet them. One was a tall, bony man, just slightly passed his prime, but not all together too old. His hair was white and he kept a well-maintained goatee. He stood ramrod straight, hands folded behind his back like a soldier. He stared at them as they approached, his dark gray eyes never stirring. Next to him stood an old woman. She was considerably shorter and slightly hunch-backed. She held a white bone cane. Her white hair was tucked into a neat bun and she held herself (despite her plights from age) with an air of wisdom and regality.

"Gran-Gran!" Katara rushed to envelop the older woman in a tight hug. Her grandmother looked smaller somehow, after two months away, but there was strength and vitality present in her arms and she held Katara tight.

"Much has happened while you were gone," Gran-Gran said as she patted Katara's head affectionately. She perfunctorily turned to Sokka and said, "Come here, boy, give your Gran-Gran a hug."

He readily obliged, grinning.

"It does my heart such good to see you two again." She sighed wistfully before nodding to their father. "Hakoda, I trust you've been taking good care of them?"

"Of course." Hakoda's tone was light, but with the way his eyes kept flicking over to the hulking Fire Nation vessel, it was obviously forced. "I kept them at least a hundred feet away from all platypus-bears, saber-tooth-moose-lions and elephant koi."

"Good, good," she replied in her craggy voice with a decisive nod. "Can't have you ruining the children after all."

"'Course not," he agreed absently. Then he addressed the man. "So Kuto, I take it my letter made it in time?"

Kuto nodded. "Yes, we received it yesterday morning and-"

"Uh, this is Suki." Sokka awkwardly pushed the girl forward.

Suki blushed and said a timid 'hello' to the two strangers. Then she discretely elbowed Sokka hard in the ribs.

Kuto sent Sokka a calculated glare for the boy's interruption.

"Ah, yes," said Bato, placing a bracing hand on Suki's shoulder. "We picked up Suki from Kyoshi Island a while back. She's done an excellent job of keeping Sokka in line so far." Suki and Sokka both flushed pink. "Suki, this stunning woman here is Kanna, Sokka and Katara's grandmother. And this depressing fellow here is Kuto."

Kuto stepped up, choosing to ignore Bato's blatant insult. "Undoubtedly, you are wondering about the Fire Nation vessel." No one would deny the almost perverse delight Kuto found when all the cards were in his hands. Yet… just the same, he knew when to be serious. Now wasn't the time to goad his Chief. "I would have told you before, had I not been interrupted."

Sokka grinned sheepishly, which Kuto ignored.

"_It_," he gestured disdainfully at the ship, "arrived two days ago. We were very much shocked to find the Fire Lord himself on board. It seems the Fire Nation is on a bit of a publicity stint, trying to improve their international relations. In fact, you have excellent timing in your return, Hakoda. The Fire Lord has expressed his wish to solicit a meeting with you and your family. Apparently he has heard much of your… conquests..." His goatee twitched as a smirk snaked its way onto his lips.

Hakoda's gaze shifted uneasily between his family and the mischievous glint in the master waterbender's eyes. Kuto thrived on drama, but he was mostly harmless. It was best to take everything he said, or rather, implied, with a grain of salt. "Hmm. Well I hope he realizes we aren't in any position to entertain someone of his magnitude. Under different circumstances I would be happy to host him, but I haven't the room or the resources to do so."

An armored guard appeared at that moment, clearly of the Fire Nation's keep, sprinting towards them. He fell to his knee as he reached the group and held up a small, folded piece of parchment while his head remained bowed in an almost comical parody of deference. "An invitation from His Majesty, The Dragon of the West, Fire Lord Iroh to the Honored Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe and His Family to dine this night on His Lord's Distinguished Ship, _The Lotus_." The voice sounded unmistakably young and the armor fit his form a bit loosely, but his other oddities more than distracted from those features- the way he spoke for example.

"Ah," Kuto jeered rocking on his heels, "Seems His Majesty of the Flames has already heard word of your arrival. What say you then, oh Honorable Chief Hakoda; accept or reject?"

Hakoda glared at the master water-bender. "You are wearing on my last nerve."

Kanna then took it upon herself to smack Kuto's arm with a painful force only a pitifully frail looking old woman could possess. Scowling, Kuto rubbed his arm and pulled away from the group, standing a safe distance from Kanna and her Freakish Old Lady Strength. Kanna nodded curtly at him as if to say "serves you right", before haughtily turning heel and focusing exclusively on the exchange between Hakoda and the Fire Nation soldier. She hadn't ever been fond of that _Northerner_ (what she had taken to calling him when he behaved it such a way as to remove his privilege of a name), especially with the disrespectful way he spoke to Katara and Hakoda. She felt particularly inclined, in her old age, to have a few prejudices around her belt, especially at the expense of the Northern Water Tribe.

The Chief, noticing the young man still bowing low at the waist, retrieved the parchment from him, then folded his hands behind his back deciding to inspect the invitation later. He cleared his throat a little awkwardly, and said "On your feet, soldier." Once the messenger rose, Hakoda added, "And uh, please inform your Lord that I graciously accept his offer."

The soldier bowed, again, his balled fist resting just below his right palm. "Great!" his voice pitched slightly, prompting the young soldier to clear his throat. "How many shall His Majesty expect for Tonight's Festivities?"

Hakoda considered for a moment. "Kanna, would you be interest-"

"I'm not going near that ship," the old woman snapped.

"Of course not," Bato grinned. "In fact, I shall insist that you dine with me tonight, Kanna. I've missed your meals while we were away."

Hakoda nodded, accepting the arrangement though bemused at his mother-in-law's curt behavior. "Well I suppose that just leaves my son, Sokka, and daughter, Katara, then." He put a hand on the shoulder of each child as he said their names. "Oh, and Suki of course. I don't believe you'd feel too comfortable without us in a strange village, would you, my dear?" He grinned at the girl.

The soldier's head dipped again, too low, his arms were in that same pose again, parallel with his head and back. "I mean no disrespect, Sir, but His Majesty's Invitation was strictly for Your Honored –and immediate- Family."

This only held Hakoda up for a second as he quickly found a loophole in the family-only ruling. "Then there is no problem at all, for surely the Fire Lord would consider my son's _fiancée_ to be family." He placed his hand on Suki's shoulder and nudged her forward slightly, in a similar but much more tactful manner than what Sokka had done earlier.

At this, Katara laughed (disguising it quite cleverly as a coughing fit), Suki turned beat-red –casting her eyes downward and obviously wishing to disappear-, and Sokka impressed everyone by barely managing not to faint, grabbing on to Bato's arm for support. The Fire Nation soldier was blissfully unaware of the reaction that transpired, still bent over at the waist.

"Of course; your son's fiancée will be an honored guest; I apologize for my assumption," the soldier dutifully replied in his grand manner to the snow beneath his feet. "I shall alert His Majesty immediately to expect four for dinner. Your invitation holds all else you should need to know for the Occasion."

"Thank you," Hakoda replied dipping his own head slightly.

"I shall now take my leave and inform His Majesty, the Dragon of the West, Fire Lord Iroh of your decision." With that, the strange soldier bowed once more and sprinted off at a remarkable pace given his size, the evident weight of the armor and the treacherously slippery landscape, in the direction of _The Lotus._

Kuto watched the soldier's retreating figure, with a slight awe in his eyes. "What an odd-ball. My goodness, Iroh must have them scared stiff to behave like that, or else that man was a stupid fellow to begin with, easily trained… could be from the blood rushing to his head so often, what with his constant bowing –rather a bit young too." He shook his head with a chuckle and looked to Hakoda. "So Chief, what does the illustrious Fire Lord's invitation say, exactly?"

"Now is not the time Kuto," Hakoda replied, stashing the elegant looking parchment into his pocket. "I told you when I left that I would expect a full report upon my return. You and I are going to have a chat about the village affairs." With that, he led the man by the arm back into the walled village. The others followed, all eager to get home.

The villagers greeted them with much vigor, clearly elated to have their beloved Chief back. Katara noticed changes immediately as they walked through the crowds. The walls, for example, which had once been nothing more than fancy snow drifts, now were made of sturdy looking ice blocks. The main entrance into the village even consisted of a paved roadway of sorts, also constructed of ice, though these blocks were rough to ensure traction. In all, the village looked far more like a village and far less like a refugee camp as it had before, granted it still looked as poor as ever. This would change soon though, Katara believed.

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The Chief's new dwelling was a pleasant surprise. Kuto had organized the whole project while they were away, as a peace offering, Katara supposed. As much as he was pompous and conceited, he really wasn't a _bad_ man. Sexist yes, but not malicious –most of the time, anyway. The home was a spacious, yet inviting place with three bedrooms that had curtains of tanned hide in each doorway for privacy. And there was a study already fitted with a desk fashioned of bone and wood recycled from an old war ship. Opposite these rooms was moderately sized dining hall and cooking area.

Given the additions to their group, it was decided that Sokka and Hakoda would share one bedroom, Kanna would have her own, and Katara and Suki would share the third. Katara supposed this was also a clever way for her father to keep an eye on Sokka, and ensure that he and Suki would never go unchaperoned. Despite whatever ulterior motives he may have had, Katara had no problem with her father's decision as she enjoyed Suki's company and relished the thought of having a girl her own age around the village for once.

She sighed as she unpacked her well-worn rucksack, taking her time and giving the new bedroom a thorough once-over. It was spacious, despite the large trunk, the small desk, and two sturdy cots (the second cot had been donated by the chivalric Sokka, choosing to brave the floor himself rather than let Suki go without). It was definitely a far cry from the small ice shelter she'd grown up in, which consisted of nothing more than a small fire pit and a floor of furs and hides.

For now, Katara was alone. Hakoda had pulled Suki and Sokka into his meeting with Kuto at the last second, claiming Sokka needed to observe the way to handle such things and also to give Suki a chance to learn a little something about their culture. Katara had been invited as well, but declined claiming fatigue. In reality, she was too distraught thinking about the presence of the Fire Nation ship- she wouldn't have been able to pay any attention during the meeting. In fact, she wondered how the others could be so seemingly blasé about the whole thing. It was a known fact: nothing good ever came out of the Fire Nation- even their proffered peace was shaky.

And what possible reason did the _Fire Lord_ himself have to come out all this way? Didn't he have a blood-thirsty country to run? Where were his dignitaries? Where were his diplomats? Perhaps the rumors were true and the Fire Lord's mind had cracked from the pressure of his stunning military coup, and he was reduced to a doddering old fool with nothing better to do that visit the tiny shambles his armies once dominated, offering pompous-sounding invitations to dinner? As much as Katara would have liked to believe his motives were benign, it just didn't seem likely. The Southern Water Tribe simply didn't have that kind of luck. Just what then, were their intentions?

Soft snores interrupted Katara's reverie; it was strangely comforting to know that her Gran-Gran was peacefully sleeping off the excitement of the day just across the hall. It was comforting how normal and familiar the sound was, despite the veritable upturning of her world. It was so good to be home again, Fire Nation ship or no.

The young waterbender idly thumbed through her freshly unpacked clothing, wondering which outfit would be the most fitting to wear to the dinner. Katara was torn because on the one hand, she did want to make a good impression on behalf of her people, but on the other, she did not want the Fire Lord to think that his presence was so important as to warrant so much pomp and circumstance. There was also a slight pang of dread in her gut that she couldn't seem to shake; perhaps this whole arrangement was a trap, and they were planning to assassinate her father…

The Northern Water Tribe had undergone a similar tragedy only a year prior to the end of the Great War. Yet, instead of Chief Arnook, it was his daughter, Princess Yue who greeted the Spirits. Fantastic rumors circulated after that, claiming Princess Yue's soul was tied to Tui, the Moon Spirit. It was said that when Tui's form as a koi fish was killed, Princess Yue had to take its place –restoring the Moon and its power. A Fire Nation soldier had managed to kill Tui, and without the Moon on the night of the siege, the Northern Tribe would have surely lost. Rumor had it that the North was able to turn the tables because the murder of Tui angered La, the Spirit of the Ocean. In a move of raw vengeance, La took on a gargantuan physical form and single handedly drove the Fire Nation armada away, managing in the process to kill the soldier responsible. No one knows exactly what happened, but if not spirits, then who could have managed such an attack? This was the turning point in the Great War, the stepping stone General Iroh used to garner support of the growing numbers of disenchanted Fire Nation citizens which was organized, rumor had it, by a secret Order with members hailing from all the nations.

Yet, the tragedy of Princes Yue prompted the Northern Water Tribe to steadfastly refuse all peace offerings from Lord Iroh. Some speculated that there might be another war if tensions did not ease in a timely manner.

Though the thought was horrifying, there was always the possibility that Lord Iroh planned to kill Chief Hakoda as a way to establish dominance and assert its power over the North. In some convoluted fashion it made sense: beat down the sister tribe to establish a threat. Katara tried to brush these thoughts aside; paranoid conspiracy theories were Sokka's forte, not hers. She decided to distract herself by focusing once again on what to wear… though the sick feeling in her gut refused to go away.

She then came across the cheongsam dress her father bought her at a port town (it was supposed to be a birthday present… just a few months early). It was a lovely, dark blue silk with a red dragon embroidered on the left hip. Unfortunately, it was a thin dress, though it was long, and only had capped sleeves. She doubted the collar would even keep her neck warm. Katara loved the dress, but had been apprehensive about her father buying it for fear she'd never be able to wear it in her icy homeland. She hadn't even had a chance to wear it on the last leg of their journey in the warmer climates. Katara frowned thoughtfully, running her finger along the silken lining.

No, much as she wanted to wear it, it would not do. Tonight Katara would be a representative of her people, and she would dress in the traditional way. In fact, she had the perfect thing in mind; it was a new robe, one she'd gotten from the village as a reward for completing her training under Master Kuto. It was more adult than her usual fair, more delicate with stitching along the hems that resembled rolling waves, mimicking the insignia on her mother's necklace. It came with a white silken sash, while not necessarily Water Tribe in origin (her father had picked it up somewhere in his wartime travels as a souvenir, and it was a miracle in itself that the cloth got there in one piece), it was elegant and flowed soft as water between her fingers. She hadn't taken it on the truncated world tour to avoid the temptation of wearing it and ruining it. It was elegant without being ostentations; the tasteful representation of her status in the village, and of the quality of its people. Tonight, it would be perfect… If only she could find it.

Katara crinkled her nose in dismay, realizing that it was most likely in the trunk… beneath all of the clothing she'd just finished unpacking.

* * *

When Suki finally returned to the room, she was surprised to find Katara carefully placing her clothing in the trunk. She quirked an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip. "Katara?"

Katara looked up at Suki and smiled.

Suki smirked. "Look, I know you're meticulous and all, but how in the name of Kyoshi are you still unpacking? I've been gone almost two hours!"

The waterbender rolled her eyes and shut the lid of the trunk, having just placed the last article inside. "I had to find the right thing to wear tonight," she explained. "And unfortunately, when I figured that out, I'd already buried it." She gestured to the outfit laid out on her bed.

Suki walked over and inspected it, carefully adjusting the sleeves and sash. "It's… really lovely," she commented. "You'll look like a real princess in this, I bet!"

Katara laughed, "That's kind of the point! Gotta look my best for his Fire-y Lordship, after all. And what better way than to march onto his ship like a true lady of quality, decked out in traditional Water Tribe colors?" She placed one hand behind her head and one on her hip. She sauntered back and forth across the room, pursing her lips and batting her eyes.

"Yes, and that's exactly the walk you should use when you get there, too!" Suki laughed, collapsing in a heap on the thick furs of her own cot. She reached her arms straight up over her chest, laced her fingers and gave her knuckles a satisfying crack. "I can't believe I'm going to be having dinner with the Fire Lord tonight. Who'd a thunk?"

Katara sighed and sat down cross-legged on her cot, careful to avoid the outfit. "I know. It's so surreal."

"Your father seems to think it will have something to do with smoothing things over between the Water Tribe and the Fire Nation." The girl shrugged haplessly from her reclined state, "But who knows?"

"Yeah," Katara replied, toying nervously with the delicate sleeves of the robe. Then she stopped as a thought occurred to her. "Say, Suki?"

"Yes?"

"What are you going to wear tonight?"

"Oh, I thought I'd just go in my armor and war paint, give the old man a traditional Kyoshi welcome, the way we _used to_ greet firebenders." She chuckled. "But in all seriousness, I've got something that might pass for half-way decent."

Suki rolled herself up to a sitting position and reached under the bed for her own rucksack, which she'd quickly abandoned there before running off to the meeting with Sokka and Hakoda. She rummaged through her things and eventually pulled out a cloth parcel and set it on her bed.

Katara raised an eyebrow and smiled wryly. Something only 'half-way decent', huh?

"Well," Suki said after she'd unwound the twine and pulled out a green dress, which she then laid out carefully. "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful." And it was. The dress was made of a very fine material, thick and strong, but very soft, with a long sleeved shift in a light, creamy green color, and a bodice and skirt in darker shades with geometrical designs lining the hem and creating a sort of apron down the front.

"It was my mother's," Suki remarked fondly, running her fingers over the stitching. "She barely wore it though; she was a Kyoshi warrior too, and things were harder for her than they had been for me." She looked up at Katara, all traces of sadness suddenly absent from her features, replaced with a playful smirk, "And if nothing else, it's roomy enough in the skirt that I should be able to layer up for the cold… and you know, maybe stash a fan or two."

* * *

After the meeting with Kuto ended and he was satisfied with the state of affairs in the village, Hakoda allowed himself to give in to his curiosity. He pulled the Fire Lord's invitation out of his pocket and delicately pried away the wax seal bearing the Fire Nation's flame insignia.

_Honored Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe,_

_It would give me the greatest pleasure if you and your family would please consent to dine with me on my ship, The Lotus, upon this day at dusk. In these uncertain times I believe fully in the establishment of peace and posterity. It is upon such topics I would very much like to converse with you. _

_I must apologize for delivering this request with such short notice. Unfortunately time is of the essence, for I cannot extend my absence from the Fire Nation any longer than I must._

_I do sincerely hope you have had a pleasant trip abroad._

_Yours very truly,_

_Lord Iroh of the Fire Nation_

It was a surprise, to say the least, that the invitation was in the form of a letter. Though it was uncertain if it had been written in Lord Iroh's hand or if he had merely dictated, the simple fact that it was so personal was a great compliment. He hoped very much that its welcoming tone reflected the personality of the Fire Lord himself.

And then he realized that dusk was closing in fast. He had less than an hour to get his family (not to mention himself) ready! At this, he quickly grabbed his son (who had been in the middle of a conversation with Bato) and rushed home, whereupon he shoved the boy into his room (ordering him to bath and dress in his finest shirt) and then burst into his daughter and Suki's room only to find them already preparing to leave.

Suki was helping Katara fasten a carved bone clip into her hair and he could see their dresses lying on their beds in anticipation. They looked up at him and blinked in mild confusion.

"Uhh," he announced uncertainly before backing out of the girls' room, "Carry on."

Hakoda sighed. He was getting far too worked up about this.

* * *

As the sun cast its final rays of daylight across the South Pole, everything came alive with vibrant color. Arms of warm pinks, oranges and purples reached out into the sky as though hoping to hold on a little longer. The colors reflected brilliantly on the sparkling snow turning the Southern Water Tribe's usual white into a painter's palate with all the variety of a rainbow. In her travels, Katara found no comparison for these Southern sunsets.

And it was in these fine conditions that she, Suki, her brother and her father made their way to the imposing _White Lotus_. A cry from a guard on deck alerted the remainder of the crew of the Water Tribe Chief's arrival and a ramp opened up at the bow of the ship. Katara shivered as she saw it, recognizing it for its purpose… The large, hinged opening was created specifically for invasions, to facilitate the mass exodus of the ship's armed and dangerous soldiers. She couldn't help but cringe at the sight of it opening before her now.

From the cave-like opening emerged a jovial looking figure (almost like a brightly colored lure on one of those frightening, sharp-toothed deep sea fish). He was clearly on in his years and, given his ornate way of dressing, clearly the Fire Lord. Katara had never seen him before, though she'd heard stories and descriptions. Most telling of that fact were the two rogue-looking guards that trailed him, expressionless behind their masked skull-like helmets. Not at all like the boy who'd delivered the invitation earlier.

Still, given his evident rank and the two imposing (and most likely armed) men at his sides, there was something bizarrely grandfatherly about the Fire Lord, something likeable for no reason. His grin was bright and above all, warm and friendly.

Lord Iroh stepped forward and opened his arms. "Welcome, my honored friends." He bowed deeply Chief Hakoda, as the young soldier had done before, with his fist balled at the base of his hand, "Chief Hakoda."

"Lord Iroh," Hakoda acknowledged in turn with a bow of his own. When they resumed standing, Hakoda gestured to his children and Suki. "Lord Iroh, please allow me to introduce my son, Prince Sokka." He gave his son a small nudge and the boy immediately dipped his head in respect (his father had taken special care to threaten him within an inch of his life, declaring that he had to be at his utmost best behavior _or else_). "And," he continued with his formal air, "The Princesses Katara and Suki." Each girl curtsied at the mention of their respective names (a feat they had practiced with Hakoda only moments before leaving the house).

"Ah!" Lord Iroh cried in delight, before approaching Suki and clasping his hands around hers (much to the poor girl's shock), "I have heard word of your impending nuptials! Allow me to offer you my sincerest congratulations!"

Suki flushed a deep red but managed to spit out some acceptable reply. She felt immense relief when the old man released her, in part because he was the Fire Lord, and in part because she was embarrassed about the lie.

"Your son has a fine taste in women," Iroh informed Hakoda, casting a sly wink at Sokka.

Sokka looked away sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. He forced a chuckle. Hakoda saved the moment by clamping his son on the shoulder with enough force to jolt him out of his embarrassment-induced stupor, "Yes," he replied good-naturedly. "We are all very pleased with the match. Suki has already proven herself to be the quintessential daughter-in-law."

Lord Iroh seemed delighted by the news. "Wonderful!"

Katara regarded the man with mixed feelings. He did seem genuine in his behavior, a very happy man to be sure… but could it all be some grand ruse? The Fire Nation had a long and dreadful track record of atrocities committed in their pursuit of world dominance. It was possible, then, that this was just some new tactic meant to catch everyone off guard… Distrust ebbed at her gut, but Katara shoved it down when she found his attentions newly directed at her.

"Ah," Iroh began, beaming at the girl as he did so, "And Princess Katara. I have heard much about you over my time in port from your esteemed Master Kuto." He took her hand gently in his own.

Katara felt a little limp and she was sure the color drained from her face. 'Master Kuto? This can't be good…' She swallowed the lump in her throat, "Not all bad, I hope."

"Bad?" The Fire Lord shook his head and patted her hand. "On the contrary, my dear, your master was filled only with compliments, though I must say he has not done justice to describe your beauty." Behind his hand, he added, "But that is a feat, I fear, not but the most gifted of poets could achieve." Then his grin widened, leading Katara to believe he was very aware of how much he embarrassed her and very amused by the fact. "Tell me, are we to be offering you congratulations soon as well? I only ask because I notice you are wearing a very lovely betrothal necklace."

Katara's hand immediately flew to her neck. "Oh! No! Sir, this was my mother's necklace. I always wear it… she died in a F-… she died in a raid." Unable to help herself, Katara cast her gaze to the ground and stepped back from the Fire Lord.

"I see," Lord Iroh replied, his voice taking on a grave quality. "No need to sugar-coat things, my dear. I am very aware of the atrocities your village and people have faced at the hands of my predecessors and younger brother." He bowed to Katara, "I apologize for bringing up such terrible memories."

The sight of the Fire Lord bowing to her, of all people sprang a blush to Katara's cheeks. This was not what she expected. Granted, it was nearly impossible for her to imagine what kind of evening awaited her on the Fire Nation ship, but this was decidedly not it. "I-it's alright," she replied shakily. "I forgive you, it was an honest mistake."

"You are most kind," he replied, good humor back in place. "And I must say I am impressed by you. An expert waterbender, very beautiful, and exceedingly obliging. One does not come across such a combination often."

Hakoda grinned down at his daughter, pulling her protectively under his arm. "Yes, Katara certainly has a way about her, doesn't she? I can tell she is destined for great things."

"Oh, certainly," Lord Iroh agreed, a twinkle of _something_ in his eye as he looked at her. "Intriguing."

There was something about the way he said "_intriguing_" that set Katara's teeth on edge. It was as though he was studying her, sizing her up, and really he was being none too subtle about it. Katara suddenly wished the necklace was for her betrothal. Perhaps then he wouldn't have taken such an interest in her… for whatever his intentions were. She couldn't help by eye him distrustfully, leaning more into her father's side.

Which, of course, the ever observant Fire Lord caught. He barked with a hearty laugh, not taking her at all seriously, or so it seemed. "My," he said, this time addressing the whole group, "where are my manners? Please, I entreat you to come inside and get warm! Dinner should be ready presently!"

Everyone eagerly made his or her way into the warmth, except Katara. At this point it would be insulting for her to turn heel and run away. It was unthinkable also, because if something happened in her absence she would always regret it. So Katara steeled herself and followed the others, convinced she was walking into the belly of a beast.

* * *

**AN: **Hopefully it's a bit better now. But anyway, tell me what you think. I'm a perfectionist and I am willing to attack this thing as often as need be to get it all pretty and shiny.

Love,

ER


	3. The Proposition

**AN: **So I am posting this chapter to celebrate the fact that I have just finished my last final paper (three and a half pages of awesome written completely last minute in two and a half hours!) of winter term and am therefore free for Spring Break! (Even though I don't get to leave this god-forsaken institute of higher learning until tomorrow morning...)

Ooooh, quick little note... Not that anyone has said this was a problem, but last chapter Hakoda referred to a place called "Sha-Ri" where Katara tried to eat the papaya... That is what I dubbed the village Aunt Wu is from because I could not, for the life of me, find its actual name. If anyone is privy to that information, please do share with me! Thanks!

And one last thing: When I first posted this, I had no idea how cliché the concept of arranged marriage was. I do now, but I just hope that mine has enough differentiating factors to distinguish itself... Time will tell, I guess.

I own nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nadda.

* * *

**Pragmatic**

_An A:TLA Fic brought to you by:_

_Electric Risk _

* * *

**Arc I**: Ice

**Scroll Two:** The Proposition

* * *

The inside of the fierce looking Fire Nation warship was surprisingly cozy. Lamps lined the wall bathing the hallway in soft, yellow-orange light. Every few feet ornate scrolls featuring inked landscapes or elegantly written proverbs greeted their curious eyes, distracting from the cold, dark metal walls. At the end of the hall hung a large red and black tapestry bearing the seal of the Fire Nation: a symbol of fear and tyranny one hundred years in the making. The sight dashed all thoughts of comfort from the newly arrived guests. It was almost as though they were walking to their doom.

On the contrary, when they reached the tapestry and turned the corner they found themselves -not in the company of a firing squad-, but in an even homier setting than before. Joining the lovely scrolls and soft firelight were all natures of trinkets, all sorts of odds and ends. Painted shells of all sizes lined one shelf, while another bore a small assortment of decorative teapots. Another still held a collection of brightly colored traditional Fire Nation theatrical masks all portraying various emotions. Katara looked upon them with intrigue, a lovely blue and white one in particular catching her eye. In general, it seemed more like the dining room of an eccentric aunt than what it really was… Then she found a terrible, leering, ruby-eyed monkey statue, grinning in an almost sadistic fashion. The waterbender decided she had looked around enough. She could practically hear its demonic laughter as she cast her eyes away.

A low table of a deep colored wood, probably mahogany, sat in the middle of the room with lush, silk seat cushions lining its perimeter. Atop the table sat two large pitchers and ten goblets –two for each person-, with fine-looking ivory chopsticks resting upon silk napkins. A bowl sat in the center of the table filled with dark red flakes (Katara figured it was just a weird decorative centerpiece... The Fire Nation probably just had a different sense of style).

A courier came and collected their coats. Katara felt slightly self-conscious about her dress, she so rarely wore such clothing. Even worse, she'd never been in a position where such clothing was required of her. She noticed Suki looking a little apprehensive as well, though Sokka's eyes were glued on her. She blushed and averted her eyes demurely under his attentions, a definite sign of chemistry between the two of them. Suki was many things (strong, smart, witty, brave), but Katara only witnessed this more coy side of her friend when in Sokka's presence.

Katara and her father shared a secretive smile. Hakoda may have bent the facts when informed the soldier that Suki was Sokka's fiancée, but if things kept on as they were, it would become the truth soon enough. Katara relished the possibility of a wedding, if not her own, then Suki's would have to be the next best thing.

"I hope you don't mind," Lord Iroh began in his benign, yet powerful voice, drawing everyone from their previous distractions, "but I've taken the liberty of creating a seating arrangement."

After being seated directly on the left of the Fire Lord, Katara found she very much so minded the seating arrangement. Still, she managed to keep her cool, focusing on the comforting notion that Suki was beside her as well. On the other side of the table, to the Fire Lord's immediate right, sat Chief Hakoda, and to his right, Sokka. Katara also found it somewhat odd that, given the length of the table, they were all bunched up to one end. It seemed unorthodox because propriety would have given Chief Hakoda the place setting directly across from the Fire Lord to symbolize their equality.

Trying desperately not to jump to any more conclusions, Katara equated it to the circumstances. This was hardly a formal state dinner with lots of dignitaries to impress and people to show off to. It was just a family dining with a "kindly" old man for an evening. Though, Katara hardly could believe the man was as "kindly" as he tried (a little too hard, in the girl's opinion) to project himself to be. A servant came by and picked up one of the pitchers in the center of the table and began to fill one of each person's goblets with water.

Katara decided to distract herself from the uncomfortable situation by nursing the drink.

"The food should be out presently," the Fire Lord informed the group congenially. "But if you find yourself craving a snack, please help yourself to some Flaming Fire Flakes." He gestured to the bowl Katara had mistaken for an outlandish centerpiece. "They pack a bit of a punch, so be wary!" He chuckled before helping himself to a handful of the little, red flakes.

Sokka shrugged. "Eh, what could it hurt?" He reached over and grabbed a handful for himself, then jammed half the pile into his mouth.

Smirking behind her goblet, Katara watched her brother with mirth. The remaining 'Flaming Fire Flakes' in his hand were released; they floated gently to the floor as though trying to look as harmless and unobtrusive as possible. The Water Tribe warrior then gagged, face flushed with the heat of the mysterious flakes he attempted to swallow and digest. "Ahhh! Hot, _hot_!" He cried fanning his tongue, before downing all of his water in a single, desperate gulp.

"Flaming Fire Flakes_hot_?" Katara remarked with a faked awe, "What do you know?"

Everyone got a bit of a laugh out of it, even Suki who tried to fight it. Sokka looked slightly miserable and pale (once the heat subsided, that is). His goblet was refilled three times to sate his thirst. The ridicule hadn't helped either. "I was hungry! I've been in meetings all day, no food there!" he explained desperately.

"I am sorry," the Lord apologized, "Perhaps I should have explained just how much of a punch they really have! Dinner should be out in just another moment though, so please do not fret."

Suki gave Sokka a sympathetic smile, as the table was too wide for her to comfortably reach his hand, which was what she'd wanted to do. His embarrassment and anger immediately defused because of the sentiment. They gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. It was a little disgusting.

Katara sighed dejectedly at the sight and her shoulders slumped. She forlornly wondered when Aunt Wu's prediction would come to pass. Then her eyes flashed, she straightened up immediately and she brought her hand to her mouth, '_Oops_,' she thought. '_Hope no one read too much into that_…' A quick glance around the table told her nobody even noticed. She relaxed.

"Ah, dinner is served!"

* * *

Dinner consisted of stewed squid, roasted seal meat, and smoked sea slug, which were all traditional meats of the Southern Water Tribe, but they were seasoned with Fire Nation spices (said spices thankfully had a much milder kick to them than the infamous Flaming Fire Flakes). The combination, accompanied with steamed rice, was surprisingly delicious. The new flavors mixed with the traditional meats offered a new culinary experience for the members of the Water Tribe. Sokka looked especially pleased, having eaten most of the available seal meat himself. The cuisine itself proffered much conversation between Chief Hakoda and Lord Iroh, both of whom discovered a mutual admiration of a well-prepared meal.

The second pitcher, Katara and her family discovered, contained a very robust Fire Nation wine. According to the Fire Lord, the best wine in the world came from the Fire Nation –"All that warm weather", he explained. "Its such a good harvest year," he continued enthusiastically, "I simply had to share it with you all." As every one sampled it (Katara discovered she hadn't much taste for wine and made herself take little sips only out of politeness) Iroh indulged upon them a bit of history.

"You know, only one hundred bottles were produced that year, I imagine this must be among the last left," he began wistfully. "Such a shame since the weather had been so perfect." And here he sighed, "Wineries were not so much a priority back then, in fact much of my Nation's culture suffered during the war. The people were ruled with an idolized picture of violence and the haughty belief in their own superiority, I'll admit, even I was cloaked by that insidious veil of self-importance. It was much worse back then, thirty years ago most people hadn't begun to question the validity of the war, whether or not it was truly worth the staggering death toll…" He sighed again, a touch of sorrowful nostalgia welled in his eyes. "It is important to remember lessons from the past to prevent the worst of history from repeating itself in the future. That is why we drink this wine tonight, to remember the past." Then, quite impressively, he raised his glass in toast. "To a peaceful and prosperous future!"

Everyone, somewhat blind-sided by the hidden analogy in Iroh's words, raised their glasses as well, echoing his sentiments.

When the eating waned and it seemed that everyone had gotten their fill, Lord Iroh motioned for the remnants of the dinner to be removed.

He smiled pleasantly and rubbed his stomach like a man who knew how to properly appreciate a good meal. Yet the dinner party was far from over. Another fleet of servants arrived immediately afterward, bringing with them trays of desserts, teapots, and teacups. A musician followed them, setting up in a corner before very skillfully playing a sungi horn to the music of a beautiful love song, or at least that was what Iroh told them.

"Chief Hakoda," Iroh began, "I hoped I might ask you to take your tea with me in another room. I have much I wish to discuss with you, the contents of which might be better suited in a quieter, more private location."

Hakoda agreed and gave a brief goodbye to the others. He and Iroh disappeared down another hall, the very same hall the servants used to come and go.

Katara was unnerved. She sat stiffly and clutched her tea, but did not drink it. Her eyes did not leave the doorway her father had passed through. Worry pooled in her stomach and seemed to flow through all her limbs. The music, she hypothesized, could just be a distraction to prevent them all from hearing her father cry for help! She jumped and nearly spilled tea down the front of her dress when Suki's hand landed on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she asked with mounting concern.

"Don't worry about her," Sokka advised with blasé. "We're all a little on edge here. I don't know about you," he continued conspiratorially hunched low over the table, "but I don't trust that _firebender_, especially now when our village is so vulnerable." He regarded his sister's rigid form critically, sitting back and raising an eyebrow. "But did dad even get a chance to tell you about that?"

Katara shook her head.

"Well," he leaned over the table again, casting a furtive look at the sungi horn player before continuing, "_apparently_ our resources were exhausted while we were gone. You know all the changes done so far? Well, it doesn't look like we'll be able to do much more. There's no livelihood here anymore because our fishing ports are useless and all the able bodies have left in search of work. We're basically sitting turtleducks."

"That sounds…" Katara articulated slowly as she felt her throat close up, "bad."

Sokka sniffed. "Yes, it is. But we'll get through it, especially now that Dad's back, don't worry." He scrutinized his sister again, "You sure you're not sick or something, Katara? You're awfully pale."

Not wanting to worry her brother and potential sister-in-law, Katara flashed the most convincing smile she could muster. "Never better," she replied shakily, quickly formulating an excuse for her off behavior, although the bomb her brother just dropped should have been excuse enough. The village was broke and falling apart and they were dining on a ship most commonly associated with nightmares, it was hardly an occasion to be jubilant. "I've never had wine before, you know. It's probably affecting me more than I realized!" She laughed it off nervously. It was less than convincing.

Suki's eyebrows arched high, "Really? It looked to me like you hardly touched it." Indeed, the glass has been more than half full with the servant took it away. Suki managed to finish off her glass and still remain quite lucid. She'd had wine often enough back in Kyoshi to build up a sort of tolerance and even a liking for it. "And, besides, alcohol usually makes your face flush… you look more like you got into my war paint."

"Oh lay off her Suki," Sokka smirked as he poked at an interesting looking pastry overflowing with rich, dark, melty chocolate. "Before we arrived at Kyoshi, Katara and I got our hands on some sake."

Katara interjected here, "Dad and Bato offered to let us try it, we didn't sneak it or anything."

Sokka glared at his goody-goody of a little sister for interrupting. "Anyway, _as I was saying_, we got our hands on some sake and after only _one_ glass full," he held up a finger for emphasis, "Katara was puking over the side of the boat! It was _so_ gross that-"

"_Sokka_!" the waterbender screeched, tossing a chopstick with keen aim at her older brother's head. It hit with a nice, resonating 'thonk', but he all but ignored it. She turned beet red as the two laughed at her expense. Suki managed to calm herself down first after pat her on the shoulder. It was meant for comfort, but Katara found it just a tad condescending.

"It happens to the best of us, Katara," she assuaged with a very understanding nod. "Not everyone was meant to hold liquor. And Sokka, you should be ashamed of yourself, laughing at your little sister's expense like that!"

"You were laughing too!" he accused, pointing menacingly. "Besides, I was the one who had to clean up the side of the boat, that in and of itself entitles me a good laugh."

Suki glared.

Properly distracted by their interaction, Katara broke down in laughter while Sokka donned a sudden apologetic persona, and in the process she completely forget her fears and concerns. She continued on like this and Sokka made a spectacle of himself as he "brutally mutilated," as Suki put it, the unsuspecting chocolate confection he'd been eyeing.

The sungi horn player only barely managed to keep the tempo of his song in the company of the rambunctious teenagers and their ridiculous mirth. The soothing melody of his music completely masked the words passed between Iroh and Hakoda on the other side of the wall. He suited Lord Iroh's purposes beautifully.

* * *

Lord Iroh sipped his tea leisurely. "I can only imagine your curiosity at my calling upon this private audience, Chief Hakoda. I assure you, I ask you here only as a fellow leader intent upon finding the best solution for a difficult situation facing one's people." He took another sip of the steaming liquid. "I am aware of some discrepancies, ill feelings left over after the war, perfectly warranted ill feelings. Still, I cannot sit idly by as my people, who held no responsibility in the war, who were forced into the regiments and onto the frontlines, to bear these prejudices of the world. As such, I have come up with an idea, a sort of solution to help ease tensions. I come here now to humbly ask for your assistance."

"I would be happy to help however I am able," Hakoda replied, finally reaching for his own yet untouched tea. "What did you have in mind?"

Iroh waited patiently for Hakoda to take a sip before responding. "To be perfectly frank," he said, "a marriage."

That grabbed Hakoda's attention immediately. He straightened, giving the Fire Lord an incredulous look as he set down the dainty cup, thankful that he hadn't any in his mouth for surely the Fire Lord would be wearing it now. "Between who?" He noticed the special attentions the Lord gave his daughter at their initial arrival and though he had originally waved it off as a diplomatic ploy, nothing more than friendly behavior, a thousand suspicions crossed his mind.

Lord Iroh chuckled congenially. "Oh surely you've some idea," he said. "You may or may not know, my good man, that my time as Fire Lord is temporary at best. I am preparing to pass on the throne to my nephew as soon as he is ready. I believe he is but two or three years older than your daughter and I believe they would make a most beneficial match indeed."

"Sir," Hakoda replied, though he was much relieved at finding he did not intend Katara for himself, "I am not the sort of man to force his daughter into a union. I could not bear the thought of her unhappiness, no matter who would benefit from it."

The older man nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Of course, that is most reasonable. I find I share your sentiments on that matter, the happiness of one's child, that is. You see, I look upon Prince Zuko as my own. I hold his happiness and wellbeing in the highest regard."

"Not to question your judgment, but what led you to believe that my daughter would be his ideal match?"

"Well," he began slowly, "first it started as a matter of logistics. For reasons I imagine you are well aware of, a union between your tribe and the Fire Nation would forge the perfect bridge through which relations with the Northern Water Tribe could be mended. Things are quite precarious as they stand now and I begin to fear the worst from it..."

"Yes, that I can understand," Hakoda replied. He too was wary of his brothers to the north. "But you must understand, my daughter is not accustomed to Fire Nation culture. She isn't familiar with your customs and behaviors. I'll admit, she's an independent sort of girl who isn't keen on conforming to what she might consider pomp and circumstance… What I'm trying to say is, she doesn't bend to the will of others and will insist on doing things her own way…" He detested the idea of possibly slandering his daughter's image, but in this case he felt a very slight exaggeration would do nothing more than protect her. "I wouldn't say that she is exactly headstrong, on the contrary she is very levelheaded and giving but… not even I would care to evoke her temper…"

Iroh chuckled jovially. "All the more reason why she's perfect!" He exclaimed. "I've taken the liberty of speaking to Master Kuto about her, as I mentioned earlier, he told me much of her behavior, though I realize it is one thing to hear about someone and quite another to know them personally. He also spoke quite highly of her bending abilities." He tapped his fingers together gleefully. "You see, she is just the kind of person my nephew needs in his life. He's a rather high strung boy, good hearted, but a little muddled when it comes to vices and virtues…" He shook his head forlornly. "Right now he is wholly dedicated to his duties as crowned prince, he refuses to see himself for what he is: a red-blooded eighteen year old boy. He needs a little fun and rule bending in his life. It also helps that your lovely daughter is such a gifted bender. I can see wonderful sparring matches between the two, a mutual respect through ability."

"You talk much of the benefits for your nephew," Hakoda said, halting the Fire Lord's daydreams. "But I've yet to see what Katara would gain from this union."

"Oh yes, of course!" Iroh nodded, "I have fully considered a way to ensure that both sides benefit from this match. As a wedding present, I am prepared to supply all labor and financing towards the rehabilitation of your village, as well as a one-sided military alliance… Which is to say, you will have the full defensive protection of the Fire Nation navy should anyone act aggressively toward you, without any need of offering military support should the Fire Nation enter such a situation. It is entirely to your benefit."

"That… that is most generous indeed," Hakoda replied shakily, wide-eyed. Such connections would lift the Southern Water Tribe to a plateau of posterity it had not seen in a hundred years… But the cost was the happiness of his only daughter, a price possibly too high to pay. "S-still, I find that I cannot make this decision for her. My daughter must decide her own course in life."

"Yes," Lord Iroh agreed. "I completely understand. But do let me put your mind at ease, should she accept, no expense shall be spared to ensure her comfort. Any family or friends of hers shall be welcomed on our shores with open arms. In fact, I am thinking quite seriously about building an arena for her particular use to practice her waterbending… But I suppose this all comes down to her decision… I do hate to rush things, however given the circumstances and my time restraints, I propose we discuss this with her immediately."

Hakoda sighed wearily and drew a hand through his hair. "Agreed."

* * *

Katara was not pleased by the situation. Her first suspicious that something was amiss occurred when she alone had been summoned to speak with the Fire Lord and her father. The atmosphere of the little room the servant had taken her to was static with tension. Something was going on, she knew it. That something was written in the helpless expression on her father's face, detailed by the contrasted cheerfulness of the Fire Lord. The worst of it all: she knew she was somehow involved.

Hakoda tentatively began, "Katara, the Fire Lord has come to us with a proposition." He cleared his throat, dropping his eyes because, really, he felt so ashamed even asking. "He has offered to take full responsibility… to finance and supply the labor to rebuild our village-"

"But that's great! That's amazing that's-" But the look in her father's eye cut her short: there was a catch. There had to be a catch. "What is it?" She asked, voice now grave. "What's the catch?" She shifted her eyes back and forth between the two men; they betrayed nothing, although Lord Iroh now appeared more serious.

"The catch is…" he took a deep breath and looked his daughter in the eye. A thousand doubts flew threw his mind. She was too young, she couldn't understand the complexity, the permanence of the situation, she did not deserve to be placed in this situation… And yet, as he looked at her, he saw that she truly wasn't a child any longer. He couldn't protect her forever, as much as he wanted to. It was her decision to make, though he already had a good idea of what she'd say. "Please, Katara, remember, you are under no obligation to accept this offer. You can refuse and no one will think any the less of you." He repressed a flinch as he saw her stiffen. "In return for his help, Lord Iroh requests that you consent to marry his nephew, the crowned Prince Zuko. He says it will help ease tensions with our sister tribe up north…" He trailed off, the reasoning sounding weak to his ears in light of his daughter's place in it all.

Katara's jaw dropped. "I… I… I… e-excuse me? I, you can't be serious…" She turned to Iroh, all previous apprehension melted away and was replaced with indignant anger. Her finger trembled in her rage, pointing at the perpetrator. "How dare you! How _dare_ you come here and put us in this situation! My village, my people need this, you know that, and you are cruel enough to… I can't even… How can I refuse? How can I accept? How can you-"

"Katara, that is_enough_!"

The sharp reprimand from her usually gentle father snapped Katara out of it. She paled with the dawning realization of whom she'd just insulted…

"You are not being forced into this situation," her father continued sternly. "I realize this is difficult for you, but that by no means gives you the right to speak out of turn like that! It was completely uncalled for, your mother and I raised you better than that."

Katara opened her mouth, as if to reply, but thought the better of it. She let her arm fall to her side and dropped her gaze to the ground. A lovely blush crept into her cheeks. This wasn't fair. She knew from the start that something bad was going to happen, she could feel it in her bones. She was under so much stress, there was so much worry about… How could she have not retaliated? And now, on top of everything else, her father was disappointed in her. Though she fought them back valiantly, tears edged their way into her clenched eyes.

"Do not worry my good man," the Fire Lord chuckled; an odd addition to the tense moment. "A woman without strong morals has no place in a position of great power or great scrutiny. It is a most admirable quality indeed."

"Oh and I'm so _glad_ you approve," Katara seethed. "Would you like to examine my teeth next?" Her eyes widened, she slapped a hand over her mouth, and then uttered a muffled "Sorry!"

Iroh only chuckled. "She's got spirit, I must say," he remarked to the markedly horrified Hakoda.

"Y-yes," Hakoda replied. What else could he say?

"Miss Katara," the Fire Lord started in a kind, grandfatherly way, "I want to make something very clear, your happiness and wellbeing is of the utmost importance. I will spare no expense for you or your family. Also, I will arrange for a long engagement to ensure that you and my nephew are properly familiar with each other. And," he continued somewhat hesitantly, "if for some reason, the two of you are not compatible in the least, although I find that highly unlikely, I will not force you to go through with the nuptials… It is not my design to make you miserable, my dear. I hope you see that."

The young waterbender swallowed audibly. She couldn't decide if she preferred being intimidated to what she felt now. Before her was not the ever imposing Fire Lord, Dragon of the West, whatever else that foot soldier had tacked onto his name, but a nice old man who was just trying to do the right thing without stepping on too many toes. She lowered her eyes, "Yes, yes I do."

"And what is your decision?"

She clenched her eye's shut, her body when rigid with tension, her knuckles whitened under the strain. Good-bye romance -Aunt Wu, apparently, was wrong, so much for that-, good-bye love, good-bye adventure… good-bye life. But it was for the best, wasn't it? It would help the village, wouldn't it? And they so desperately needed help. Besides, if they really, really weren't compatible, she didn't have to go through with it. Truly, there was only one option.

"Yes." She whispered, unable to put any volume behind her voice. "Yes, alright." She met the Fire Lord's eyes with a renewed determination: she would do this for her people. "I'll do it."

* * *

**AN: **Alright, that's all for this installment. Stay tuned for _**Scroll Three: The Departure**_! (Gee, I wonder what it'll be about...) I'll try to get it out within a couple weeks. I'd say sooner, but sadly I have no idea how much free time I'll actually have to write in the near future (don't worry too much though, it's almost half way done). I promise do my best! Just be thankful that I've got a lovely, beautiful, can-take-it-with-me-anywhere laptop!

Love,

Electric Risk


	4. The Departure

**AN: **Yeah, I warned you all about sporadic updates (sorry)... If you want to learn more about the mania that is my life, I now have a livejournal, you can find a link to my page by clicking the "homepage" button on my profile. Please friend me, as I am new and have none yet and look like a complete loser. (Yay!) I would love to be able to interact with all of you guys there!

But anyway, I've got a really long note at the end of this chapter so I'll just leave you to read... (BTW, this is the longest chapter I've ever written!)

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything.

* * *

**Pragmatic**

_An A:TLA Fic brought to you by:_

_Electric Risk _

* * *

**Arc I**: Ice

**Scroll Three:** The Departure

* * *

_"I'll do it."_

The room fell silent, as if to hold its breath. Candlelight danced in strange shadows on the wall of the Fire Lord private office, making caricatures of the three inhabitants: the young girl with flaring arms rippling at her sides in stubbornness, yet with quaking legs, an older larger man seated behind the table, almost immobile and rooted like a mountain except for his wavering hands clasped over the table top, and the father seated on the opposite end of the room, mouth agape swaying in soundless shock. Nothing else dared move lest it somehow take back the young waterbender's words, or adversely, turn them into a binding contract. The ship groaned as a strong current rocked in at its docked point; through the open porthole they could hear the light lapping of the windswept water on the hull. The whole room seemed to swell and contract with the slight motion, like taking a deep breath, and in that second, it seemed her words were finally absorbed, her conviction noted.

"Katara," Hakoda said desperately, unconsciously lurching forward, "you really don't have to do this, we can get by some other way. This isn't your problem, you need not feel any obligation, you don't have to-"

The young woman knelt by her father's seat, taking his hands in her own. "I've made my decision, dad," she said with a confidence she showed more than felt. "This is for the best. And you heard him; if I absolutely can't stand it there, he won't make me stay." She took a deep breath, "It's time I started pulling my weight around here anyway. Please," she finished, "let me do this."

Hakoda looked at her, her wide eyes –with a touch of fear, uncertainty-, and sighed. "You're too selfless for your own good, but if this is what you really want, I won't stand in your way." And he wouldn't. It might be the hardest thing he'd ever have to do, but he was a man of his word. If this is was the course his daughter truly wanted to take, who was he to block her?

Katara nodded and rubbed a stray tear from her eye. She wanted to smile, to reassure her father, but her face was grim. In her mind she repeated a mantra over and over: '_It's for the best. It's for the best. It's for the best_…'

"When will you leave?" the grieving father asked, tearing his eyes from his daughter and regarding, at last, the Fire Lord. "You mentioned that you couldn't be away much longer…"

Iroh hesitated, realizing full well how difficult this was for the pair, taking no pleasure in their pain. "I was hoping to set sail in no less than two days. I have my most trusted advisers in my place as head of state, but I fear things are still quite unstable in the government and it is possible for things to… get out of hand in my absence. I'd rather avoid such risks."

"I… see." He slowly digested the words. He looked at his fifteen-year-old daughter who still knelt by his side, noting how young she looked in the candlelight. She clutched his hands tighter. "Don't worry, sweetheart. We will all visit you as often as we can. You'll hardly miss us." He gently wiped a tear away from her cheek.

"Two days," Katara breathed, burying her head in her father's shoulder. "Just two days."

The Fire Lord sighed and turned away, helpless to do anything else. "I am sorry, my dear."

* * *

Katara and Hakoda requested privacy for the announcement the decision and pending engagement to Sokka and Suki. It was granted without a second thought. The young couple did not take it well, though Sokka was admittedly more vocal about it than Suki.

"What?" young warrior cried, tossing his hands haphazardly into the air. "You can't be serious! Dad, you didn't _actually_ agree to let her do this, did you? This is just some great big joke right? Ha-ha?"

"Sokka," Hakoda barked. "Calm down. This was your sister's decision and you _will_ support her."

"Oh I'll support her all right!" He declared loudly, "I'll support her right into the loony-bin! And you!" He turned to his sister, pointing sharply. "How could you say yes? What were you thinking?"

"I was _thinking_," Katara ground out, getting angrier by the second as she poked her older brother square in the chest, "about the people I would help." Jab. "I was _thinking_ I could finally do some good for my family and friends." Sharp jab. "I was _thinking_ you would be there for me, _support_ me, but maybe I put too much faith you." She let out one final screech of frustration clutching her hair, freezing and cracking all liquid filled containers in the vicinity. (A fine looking vase showcased on its own shelf got a nasty crack down the middle.) Then she stomped away to seethe in a corner.

Sokka was startled, to say the least, by his sister's outburst, but she got through to him, if only a little. It slowly became apparent to him that the whole thing was out of his hands, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He sighed and looked to Suki, who appeared just as concerned about it all as he was. She took his hand.

"It'll be okay, Sokka," she promised softly. "You'll see. Katara is strong, she can get through anything."

The Water Tribe warrior shook his head forlornly and whispered back, "She's signed her life away."

Hakoda placed a strong hand on his son's shoulder. "This was her choice, Sokka. She's growing up and it is time we acknowledged that. She's sacrificing her potential happiness for the good of her people and there is something deeply admirable in that. Yes, I would rather she didn't go, but she wants to do this and it is not our place to talk her out of it, do you understand?"

With a withering sigh, Sokka nodded in defeat.

* * *

The family's departure from the Fire Nation vessel was a somber one. The plans were set: Katara would set sail with the Fire Lord the day after next and then it would be a three day trip to Capital City where she would meet her intended. She would sleep but two nights in her village before being whisked away forever, however long that was.

They dawned their coats and gloves and waited for the great mouth of the ship to open and release them. As it slowly descended, they were greeted with darkness, thick and inky. There was no moon to light their way tonight. Lord Iroh gave Sokka and Hakoda lanterns to supplement, though their range of light was short. Finally, the group bid their good-byes with all politeness, but no warmth. Iroh nodded them off, torn between duty and their plight.

As the steel mouth of the ship closed, the scraping sound of the jaw's hinge screeched out over the silent tundra. No one spoke, lost in thought, the future swimming through their minds: the end of possibilities that were once so trivial and now so precious. So distracted were they, that none saw it coming. Something whistled through the air...

It happened so fast.

Hakoda was down, knees buckled as he tumbled to the snowy floor, clutching at his chest with a low moan of pain. His lantern was snuffed out by the ice and fall. Still, the light from Sokka's small flame was enough to expose the red inching over the blue-white ground and the horror etched on the siblings' faces.

Blood.

Color drained from Katara's face. _Another parent lost_. She was hindered only a moment with grief before the blind empowerment of rage overcame her with the force of a tidal wave. This was just too much, especially after all that had happened. There was no moon tonight, but not even that could protect the man who shot her father. The arrow aimed for his heart stuck obstinately from his chest. In an instant, the snow beneath their feet became her weapon. The very ground that monster stood upon, crouched upon, _crawled_ upon, as was most likely for a wretch like him. This was the moment she waited for. This was her moment of truth; the climax of the night she'd felt in her gut. The horror she'd anticipated.

She thrust out her arms, pausing only a beat before clenching her fists, which caused the snow and ice to condense instantly with a crunch, creating a slick solid ground around her family spanning out far beyond the illuminated reach of Sokka's lantern. But, she could see him now, vaguely, the dark shape rising from the flat ground, she could hear his cry as he lost his footing and slipped, falling hard –she hoped.

Distantly she could hear Sokka too, shouting at her, trying to get her attention, but she was too far-gone. She charged, automatically making the ice propel and slide her feet forward with each hurried step. She got close to him, and he was still incapacitated, a look of terror marked in his eyes, anger too. Fluidly, she spun, making the ice around her father's attacker swell and spiral around him, imprisoning him; his legs, torso, and arms trapped in the ice.

"_Monster_!" she rasped, her voice hoarse. She realized now, that she had been screaming, probably since she saw her father fall. Almost unconsciously done, daggers of ice formed in her hands with a lethal purpose. "You _killed_ him, you monster!"

"I am no monster, little girl!" The imprisoned man sneered. "You, _you_ are the monster! Your family is a _disgrace_! There are bigger things at work here than you know! Consorting with the enemy! Your family brings this village shame!"

"I'll kill you!" Katara screeched, lunging at the immobile man. An icicle stopped one inch from the man's face, centered perfectly between his eyes, the other poised for a second blow over her head. She'd been restrained at the last second. She struggled violently to get out of the tight grasp.

"Katara! _Snap out of it_!"

She blinked; it was Sokka. He continued to speak.

"He's okay, Katara," he murmured softly in her ear, his arms latched under her own, hugging her back to his chest. "The wound isn't fatal. He'll be okay. Don't do it, Katara. Calm down. You have to _calm down_."

Her shoulders sagged, her arms dropped, the ice daggers fell to the hard ground, snapping on impact. She felt so heavy, so tired, so relieved. Katara slumped to the ground. Sokka knelt beside her, a hand rubbing small circles on her back as she slowly came to grips with what she'd been about to do.

The man in the ice cackled. "Weak! You're _weak_, that's why you'll never succeed in this life! Can't even face your own-"

"Oh shut _up_!" Sokka cried, jumping to his feet. Barely batting an eye, he bludgeoned the man over the head with his boomerang, knocking him out cold. Katara looked at her brother curiously, cocking her head to the side, silently asking if he'd had the weapon on him the whole time.

He shrugged. "Always be prepared, right?"

Katara cracked a small smile at him and wiped tears from her face with the back of her gloved hand. When Sokka held his hand down to her, she gladly accepted it and got to her feet. Together they walked back to the scene of the attack, planning to come back for the perpetrator in a little while. As an afterthought, not wanting him to freeze to death (yet), Katara retracted the ice-prison, certain that he would not be leaving on his own any time soon.

"Suki's with Dad right now," Sokka remarked. "And thanks to your screaming, everyone in a ten mile radius probably knows that something bad just happened." He tucked her under his arm and gave her shoulder a small squeeze, offering the comfort only an older brother could. "You've really got a pair of lungs on you, you know?"

When they reached ground zero, a small crowd already gathered, flanked with multiple lanterns making the spot a beacon in the darkness. Fire Nation soldiers. They carefully lifted Hakoda onto a cot, preparing him for transport. The Fire Lord was there too, a grim expression on his withered, suddenly older face. He approached them.

"I am so sorry about your father," he told them gravely. "I can't help but feel it was my presence here that brought all this upon you. But tell me, could… do you know, was the attacker…"

"Was he Fire Nation, do you mean?" Sokka asked bluntly.

The old Lord released a heavy sigh and nodded.

The young warrior tapped his boomerang on his shoulder, "It was dark, but who else would it be?" His voice held no more warmth than the ice they stood upon.

"I feared as much…"

"No," Katara shook her head, her voice, though clear, exposed how weary she was. "He said we were consorting with the enemy, he said…" She brought a hand to her brow, she could feel a headache coming on fast. "I don't think he could have been Fire Nation."

At that moment, a figure swiftly descended upon the group from the direction of the village. It was Kuto and he used a similar propulsion method as Katara had during her attack. "Bato said he heard someone screaming and sent me to investigate," he said as he arrived. Regarding Hakoda in his injured state, his face became gaunt, his lips thinned. "What has happened here?"

"My father was attacked," Sokka snapped, pointing with his boomerang to the incapacitated Chief, "What does it look like?"

"Sokka," Suki admonished weakly.

Kuto, as usual, ignored it, appealing to the other members of the group. "Where is the attacker now? Did he get away?"

"No," Katara shook her head. "I caught up to him and Sokka knocked him out. He's back there." She gestured vaguely over her shoulder to the black horizon.

The Waterbending Master placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder, forcing the boy to look him in the eye. "Show me."

He nodded silently, and passed his sister over into Suki's care without argument. "Alright."

* * *

Kuto and Sokka returned to the group shortly, the assailant tossed haphazardly over Kuto's bony shoulder. He deposited the wretch unceremoniously at the feet of Katara, Suki, and Lord Iroh, eerie looking in the yellowed light. Looking at him now, as he lay sprawled on the ground, a large welt forming near his temple, it was easy to see where this man hailed from. Traditional, blue-dyed sealskin adorned him head to toe, the bow he still clutched made of bone; a telling mark hearkening from a land where wood was scarce.

He was Water Tribe.

An ironic laugh tumbled from the old Master. "I knew this man," he said, nudging him with his boot. "Name's Yann. I trained him since he was a lad as a private tutor after he was kicked out of Master Pakku's school. He was mediocre, really, but wealthy and well placed in society. It is no surprise they sent him to do this dirty work, probably called it an _honor_."

"Wait a second," Sokka turned on him, jabbing a finger into his chest. "Are you saying you expected this? Why didn't you warn us? We could have been on guard! We could have done something about this! We could've-"

"Sokka." The weak groan of his father stopped him. The Chief's eyes opened a crack, his hand still secured around the arrow they hadn't had the tools or ability to remove yet.

"Dad." He knelt by his father immediately, taking his spare hand. Then he glared up at Kuto, silently demanding answers.

"Your father expected this attack as much as I did," Kuto explained somberly. "Indeed, he has been at odds with the North for some time now. His eye, for instance, you don't think the Fire Nation did that, do you? I'd been in the platoon that turned on him." He sighed warily. "The man that did it to him was my comrade." He paused, lost momentarily in memory. "Two years ago when the war was still in full swing, Hakoda had shown mercy to a Fire Nation family in one of the colonies. Granted, this was just after the tragic death of Princess Yue, which the North felt most acutely. Your father was dubbed a traitor for not dealing with the enemy in an appropriate manner. Do keep in mind that the 'enemy' was a women with two small children, probably a widow." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and continued. "I saw my old friend attack Hakoda, calling him a traitor to the cause, and knew in my gut that he was in the wrong. I took appropriate action, only too late to save your father's eye. My friend was incapacitated and the rest of the platoon quickly turned on me as well. Hakoda and I barely made it out with our lives.

"Bato met us and harbored us with his men. Your father, you see, was a notable warrior and leader. The North did him an honor, or so they claimed, by accepting him into their ranks, but in the end, they turned on him, unable to see past their petty prejudices to spare the life of one innocent woman and two innocent children. I never did find out what happened to them, although I can't imagine it was anything good."

Suddenly, the secrecy of the wound made sense. Why he wouldn't talk about it, though it's origins seemed so obvious. Hakoda didn't want to turn their sister tribe into an enemy, he wanted to avoid that course of action as long as possible. Now it was all for naught. The damage was done. It was painfully obvious that things were slipping down a steep slope where, it seemed, a new war stood to meet them at the bottom. Katara bitterly wondered if they were in store for another hundred years of battles.

* * *

Since it was the closer of the two possible destinations, the group, now consisting of Kuto, Sokka, Suki, Katara, Lord Iroh, three faceless soldiers, the unconscious assailant (so dubbed Yann), and, of course, Hakoda, headed towards _The White Lotus_. There, Yann was secured in the small brig of the ship and Kuto was able to remove the arrow that struck dangerously close to Hakoda's heart. In less than an hour, he managed to seal the wound and stave off the chance of infection, but the damage was done.

"You'll have to avoid strenuous activity and stress," Kuto announced as he wiped his brow. Healing the chest cavity was meticulous, careful work involving the remeshing of flesh; he even had to repair a couple of the lesser arteries. The old master was weary for it. "You're heart is irreversibly weakened now, I'm afraid."

Hakoda grunted, feeling somewhat better, "Wonderful. That'll be easy enough to achieve, especially since we just suffered an offensive attack from our sister tribe. No stress _whatsoever_."

Kuto rolled his eyes. "You always were one for drama."

Lord Iroh took this moment to clear his throat. "Chief Hakoda, our agreement stands, even now. You have my full support should you need it. In fact, I shall insist that you have in your keep three of my best guards with more to arrive as fast as I can send for them."

"Haven't you done enough?" Sokka barked, leaping to his feet from his place at his father's bedside. "It was your interference that brought all this on us in the first place! They might not have liked my dad so much before, but if you hadn't showed up they probably would have left us alone! Then my dad would be fine and my little sister would be sold off to pasture for your spoiled brat of a nephew!"

This time, no one halted Sokka in his tirade. So he continued. "Given the circumstances," he concluded, "I don't think Katara should go anymore. She needs to stay here or who knows what'll happen! What if they attack again? What if they target her specifically? I can't let that happen." He crossed his arms and nodded decisively.

"I understand that you are upset," Iroh replied evenly, "but I am afraid the effects of my visit are irreversible. If I leave now, your village will be at their mercy…"

Sokka shocked everyone, letting out a furious growl as he slammed his fist into the wall.

Katara placed her hand on top of his. He looked at her, his face strained with concern, torn. His little sister looked so tired, the bags seemed to sag ever more under her cerulean eyes. Those eyes begged him to calm himself. "Please, Sokka. You've got to understand; we need this. The village _needs_ this, we can't get by without their help."

He pulled his little sister tight against him. "I can't lose you, Katara. I won't let anything happen to you. I promised mom I'd protect you. If you go with them, you could be targeted…"

"And if I don't go with them, our village will fall apart, our people will starve, and then where will we be?" she muttered into his shoulder, trying to fight back tears.

"We'd be together."

"Together and dead, more like," she countered. "Besides, the purpose of the union in the first place was to help create peace. If we back out now, we're just giving into hate. That's what caused the last war and it is the only thing that will cause another. If we run away now, we let them have power over us; we let them tell us what's right and wrong. Do you really want that after what they did to Dad?" She took a deep breath. "This isn't going to be easy, Sokka, but it's the right thing. I already gave my word that I would go." She smiled up at him, though it felt a little hollow. "Besides, we both know I can take care of myself."

For her sake, he cracked a small smile in return. "Yeah, and I'll probably still be able to hear your crazy war cry even if you are over in the Fire Nation."

"See?" Her grin brightened and she let her head fall heavily to his shoulder, she was so tired. "It all works out."

* * *

It felt like years past by the time the sun rose, by the time the family made it back to their village. Katara watched it blearily from her window as it ascended from the horizon, as though the light erased the terrors from the night before, yet she was sure her father's blood still stained the snow. She was exhausted but too riled up to sleep, unable to fully wrap her mind around what happened, how her life took a that sudden shift. Suki sat next to her, leaning on her shoulder and holding her hand. The waterbender tensed her fists. "We were so close to having a funeral today…"

"You can't dwell on that, Katara," Suki replied sleepily. "Your father's fine, he's going to be okay."

She sighed and stood, feeling fidgety. "You should try and get some sleep, Suki. Don't stay up on my account."

"Nh-hn." She rubbed her eyes. "I can sleep later, you leave tomorrow, after all."

Katara let herself collapse on the other bed. "Don't remind me."

Suki propped herself up on her elbow and glanced at her friend. "You scared?"

"Of course," she said. "I'm leaving to go live in a country full of people I've been terrified of since I can remember. I'm getting engaged to a boy I've never even met!"

"Why'd you agree to do it then?"

Katara stretched herself out and rolled over on to her stomach. She had to think about this carefully, for really, why did she agree? "I agreed because… because I had to," she shrugged at last. "I mean, what else is there for me to do here? I can't single handedly rebuild this village with my bending, no matter how much I'd like that… Sokka's going be Chief someday and I'm just… useless. I have to do something, Suki. And maybe something good will come out of this for me. Maybe I'll fall in love with the prince, or I won't have to marry him and I'll, oh, I don't know, spend the rest of my life going on crazy adventures. Who knows?"

Suki hummed, playing with the sleeve of her sleeping shift. "Yes, that's always a possibility. What do you think he'll be like?"

"Spoiled, probably. He is a prince after all. He was a prince during the war. He's probably bitter that his uncle stopped it." Katara supposed.

"I don't know." Suki said. "I seem to remember hearing that the Fire Princess and her father were imprisoned after the war because they refused to see reason. Lord Iroh seems like an intelligent man; maybe he saw that Prince… –Zuko- was it? Maybe he saw some good in Prince Zuko –I mean, they were in exile together a couple years at least."

"Maybe," Katara agreed. "I guess so. I hope he's not a jerk. I bet he hates the idea that he's got an arranged marriage. I bet he thinks I'm going to be some ditzy, backwards girl from the middle of nowhere."

Suki laughed. "Well then I guess you'll just have to show him better."

"Yeah," she chuckled half-heartedly, but then the smile vanished. "You'll visit me though, right?"

"Sure," she nodded. "Without a doubt. Sokka and I will definitely visit." To lighten the mood, she added, "And then we'll get kicked right out again once he threatens to bludgeon your fiancé over the head with his boomerang!"

"Hmm," Katara chuckled. "You might have to take it from him, Suki. He may cry and put up a fight, but I can't have a fiancé with debilitating head trauma because of an over protective older brother. Might make me look bad." Katara's eyes flashed as that new, horrifying possibility crossed her mind. "Wait, what if the people really don't like me? What if they think I'm some kind of… I don't, home wrecker or something?"

Suki groaned. "Katara, don't worry about it. Things will work out. I do, however, think you need to get some sleep, otherwise you'll just keep scaring yourself with off the wall theories."

She sighed, "You're probably right." She crawled on top of her bed and paused, "Sokka really is a great big brother, isn't he?"

Suki laughed, "What brought on this sudden affection?"

"It's just that, we get on his case so often," she played with the ends of her hair, "I wonder if he knows that we appreciate him, is all. I'm leaving soon and I just want to make sure he knows that I think he's great."

Suki's smile softened. "Sokka would go to the ends of the earth for you and he knows you'd do the same for him."

"Good," Katara murmured. "Sweet dreams, Suki."

"Sweet dreams, Katara."

Throwing back the heavy fur blankets on her bed, Katara snuggled deep into the warmth, yet sleep did not come easy. Suki was out as soon as she was situated in her own bed, Katara jealously listened to the gentle sound of her even breathing for a long time. The worries for her future would not let her alone and she couldn't help wondering where her life was headed.

* * *

Katara begrudgingly awoke to her brother's prodding. She sleepily realized that Suki's bed was already made and said girl was nowhere in sight.

Sokka sat at the foot of her bed and sighed. "Gran-Gran's lost it," he said. "She found out a little bit ago what happened to Dad last night and now she's flying off the handle… We wanted to let you sleep in a little longer, till she calms down. We kinda wanted you to be there before we told her the _other_ news."

Katara blinked. Oh, the other news. Her engagement. Her departure. The upheaval and variable ruination of her life as she knew it. Somehow, it sounded much more trivial the way Sokka phrased it. "Well," she shrugged. "Gran-Gran's old fashioned, she'll probably be glad I've landed such a powerful husband in an arranged match. Maybe she'll calm down?"

Her brother scratched the back of his head. "I dunno… Dad seemed pretty concerned about it. Something about something that happened when Gran-Gran was younger. He wouldn't tell me."

Katara flopped back on the bed. She had no will to face the world and would have much rather gone back to sleep, where she could dream and pretend she wasn't about to be shipped off to become someone's royal arm candy. But Sokka wasn't having any of it. He yanked her up to a sitting position by the arms. "Oh no you don't," he said. "We've got a lot of ground to cover today and we need you with us to do it. After you get cleaned up and eat, we have to tell the villagers what's going on. You're a big part of all this, you know."

"I know," she groaned, gripping her blanket.

Sokka's hand landed on top of hers, he tilted up her chin so he could look her in the eye. "You can still back out, Katara. It'll be okay if you do. We can get by. You don't have to do this."

"It's not that easy, Sokka. I feel it in my gut. I have to do this." Her eyes iced over with resolve, and she gave her brother a sad smile. "I'm really going to miss you."

His voice was shaky as he replied, "I'm really going to miss you, too." He pulled her into a tight hug and they stayed like that for a while, not knowing when they'd get the chance to be brother and sister again.

* * *

Once everything was settled with Kanna and Katara was ready, they made a formal address to the villagers. Hakoda explained what transpired the night before, although omitting just how close he'd come to death, and also announced the engagement of his daughter. The people were uneasy, especially when Fire Lord Iroh made an appearance. He explained to the villagers his intentions and assured them of his loyalty, though it did only little to assuage their worries. Then, for symbolic appearance mostly, the two leaders embraced and shook hands.

The rest of the day had Hakoda, Fire Lord Iroh, Sokka, Suki, Bato, Kuto and Katara in meetings to draft a formal treaty that would officially unite the Fire Nation and the Southern Water Tribe. They also ironed out the final stipulations in the agreement regarding Katara's trip and subsequent stay in the Fire Nation palace. By the end of it, everyone was the worse for it, bags etched under their eyes.

The sun rose obstinately early the following morning. Katara could not hide her malice towards the brightening horizon. The last night with her family seemed too brief. They tried to make it a jolly affair after the long meeting, but depressing undertones were impossible to erase. At the night's end, everyone parted with tearful 'good night's, dreading the encroaching morning that would break off a piece of their beloved family.

Lord Iroh waited at the village gates flanked with four soldiers. His old eyes were weary, but his gentle smile was a comfort. Three of the soldiers did not wear their customary skull-plated helmets and carried rucksacks over their shoulders, the fourth stood behind, fully garbed in his armor.

Katara and her small family took their time walking, prolonging the departure as much as they could manage. Katara's belongings were already stowed on the ship and it would not be long before she, too, was on board for good. It was decided that the final goodbyes would be among immediate family only (plus Suki), because of the delicacy of the situation. Katara made her farewell address to the villagers the previous afternoon and to Bato and Kuto at party the night before.

Kanna, the last of the family to discover the arrangement was decidedly against the whole thing and made her stance on the matter as clear as she could. In her mind, nothing could redeem the Fire Lord and she couldn't for all her years and wisdom understand why her own grand daughter would choose to subject herself to such a life. She threatened to disown Katara if she insisted on going through with it, but to no avail. The girl's mind was fixed. Sokka and Hakoda attempted to placate her and help her understand that Katara was allowed to make her own decisions, but nothing worked. Kanna was just as stubborn as Katara was, in that respect.

As a result of the rather upsetting fight, Kanna refused to be present for her final moments. Katara was hurt, but she tried to hide it. She focused instead on her father, brother, and friend. She embraced each, failing and not really caring at this point, to restrain her tears.

"Be good Sweetheart," Hakoda said, holding her close one last time. "I know you'll make us all proud, you've already made me proud."

Katara clutched his jacket, burying her face in his shoulder. "I'll try Dad," she cried. Then, throwing her arms around his neck, "I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you, too," he replied, squeezing her a little tighter, "everyday."

Next, she said goodbye to Suki. They embraced and Suki murmured, "You show that Fire Brat what you're made of and don't let anyone push you around, okay?"

"Okay," Katara nodded, her voice wavering. "I'll try."

"You'll be great, Katara," she smiled. "They'll have to love you. And we'll visit, I promise. We'll visit soon."

"You better," Katara said, attempting to sound threatening. She missed her mark, but at least it lightened the moment.

Last was Sokka, and he was by far the hardest for her to leave. For years they were each other's only real companions while their father was away at war. They had never truly been apart before and so the concept of it now was difficult to bear. Katara could form no words in her throat as she wrapped her arms tightly around her brother's neck.

Sokka tried to make light of the moment. "Hey, not so hard! Some of us have to breathe!"

"Sorry," Katara laughed and sobbed at the same time.

Sokka put her at arm's length, hands on her shoulders and he surveyed her. "Well, you going to be alright without me?"

She smiled, "I'll try to make do."

He nodded, "Good. I left a surprise for you in one of your trunks, by the way. So take care of it! I'm going to monitor its condition when I visit in two months, okay?"

"Alright." She sighed heavily and addressed everyone, "Well, I guess this is it."

"Indeed, m'lady," Lord Iroh replied, stepping up by her side. "Shall we?"

She nodded reluctantly and together they walked towards the ship. Only one soldier accompanied them back, the other three remained with the rest of Katara's family as they were the guards Iroh promised them the night of the attack. Katara cast one furtive look over her shoulder and had to will herself not to run back to them. The trip to the ship seemed to drag on forever and Katara found herself barely registering Iroh's light small-talk. All she could think about now was the opened mouth of the ship.

As she stepped on to the lip and walked once more into the shadowed darkness beyond, she knew with full certainty that turning back was no longer an option. When it closed behind her, she could almost feel the ties to her village snap. Still, she could not resist running to the deck so that she could watch as the distance grew between her and the village, her family. As they neared the edge of the territory, Katara spied a hunched figure on the shore. She leaned over the railing, squinting her eyes. A lightness filled her heart.

It was Kanna, one arm raised to wave goodbye.

* * *

**AN: **Man this was a hard chapter to write! Soap opera much? ...shakes head... I hope it didn't turn out too crazy! Especially since I originally planned to kill Hakoda... but luckily a friend talked me out of it. Hopefully you all agree that I took it in a much better direction. Oh, and I also apologize about the sappy chapter ending. I just felt that after all that emo garbage, we should have something to lighten the mood a bit.

The next chapter shall be entitled "The Art of Zin" (not a typo). It might turn out to be a shorter chapter, a sort of interlude of Katara's three days at sea with Iroh and the crew. Hopefully I'll get it out before the end of time.

Prince Zuko is scheduled to make his grand entrance in Scroll Five... and then chaos shall ensue.

Well, please, please, please let me know what you thought! Your input means the world to me and would be especially wonderful after the absolute hell this chapter put me through...

Thanks for reading!

That said...

**SPOILER ALERT FOR TBR 1 & 2!!**

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**OMFG!!** Was anybody else bewildered by rocket-powered Azula? Cuz I sure as hell was! I found all of that action a tinsy bit over the top. Even Suki's repetitive bouts of GURL POWER!!111one ...Perhaps I am too critical?

Over all, I did enjoyed the episode. It reinforced the notion that Sokka's pretty much a genius, Ty Lee and Mai are good (I don't what to think about the bizarre display of Maiko behavior...), Zuko is awkward, yet still wonderfully bad-ass, and Azula is a rocket scientist's wet dream, regardless of the fact that she's missing a few nuts and bolts. Also, Hakoda totally pwns.

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Ehem... Much love,

Electric Risk


	5. Interlude The Art of Zin

**AN: **This chapter was a MONSTER! I am so thoroughly glad that it is done. But hey, it's a long one! (Because it wouldn't F& DIE!) I apologize if the ending seems a bit weak. Ugh. This chapter really made me want to hurt things. But I did what I needed to with it. I'll just shut up now because you didn't come here for the thrilling Author's Notes, I'm sure.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything.

* * *

**Pragmatic**

_An A:TLA Fic brought to you by:_

_Electric Risk _

* * *

**An Interlude**

**Scroll Four:** The Art of Zin

* * *

As the last strip of the icy tundra dipped below the dark blue ocean horizon, the panic set in. Katara's grip on the railing tightened, the breath was knocked out of her. She was cut off so definitely from her family and home, it felt like she was in a free-fall, nothing to grab on to but slicked down walls and nothing to look forward to but the mysterious, pitch black bottomless pit she fell in. And of course, it did not help at all that she was stranded on a ship full of Fire Nation soldiers, said soldiers, which had, at one point, plundered her home and killed her mother.

She took a deep, calming breath. She was sure none of the soldiers on this ship had been part of that raid. She was sure of it.

…Was it too late to go back home?

A warm hand landed on her shoulder. She jumped. This was the first human contact she'd had since she first boarded the ship some time ago. (How long _had_ she watched the horizon?) When she turned, she discovered Fire Lord Iroh smiling benevolently at her.

"You must be tired, my dear," he said. "Might I show you to your chambers? You're very welcome to rest there, if you wish. I imagine you have had quite a trying time these past few days."

She nodded mutely and took his offered arm, too numb to realize the Fire Lord was performing the job of a cabin boy if only for her sake. As he led her into the depths of the ship, Katara barely registered her surroundings, her mind centered on other, more pressing matters, like wondering just _what_ she'd been thinking and how she would survive three days stuck on a ship with the stuff of nightmares. 'Come on, skull-plated helmets?' She thought cynically, 'Who _does_ that?'

Iroh prattled off about various landmarks they passed, and the most she could do to respond were noncommittal murmurs. If they were truly important, she'd just figure it out later, she told herself. The Lord did not interrogate her or ask her how she was; he said nothing to her that truly required any sort of conversation on her part. For that she was grateful. She feared that if she made herself think about everything, if she dwelled for one second on the family she left behind, she might burst into tears.

The crybaby image wasn't something she really wanted to project to the Fire Lord or his soldiers.

At length, they stopped. Katara hadn't realized they'd walked for so long. When she glanced down the cold, metal hallway to judge the distance, she noticed a soldier lurking in the shadows some paces back. It gave her a chill, but she fought it down.

"Here we are!" He announced cheerfully, throwing open the door. By comparison to the hall, the room was brightly lit and inviting. The décor was simple, but elegant with its deep reds and stunning golds. The bed was an uncomplicated affair, with a platform frame and lush looking covers. Next to it sat a low dressing table with a large, oval mirror. It held various items, among them, she noticed, was her hairbrush –someone must have unpacked for her-. An intricately carved armoire stood in one corner and in the other sat a beautifully done claw-foot tub, designed to look like the body of a dragon, though it was only partially visible behind the rice paper screen with lovely country scenes painted on the panels.

"I do hope it is to your standards," he finished, bidding her to follow him inside.

Katara didn't think she'd ever seen a finer room in her life, let alone had one for her own personal use. Rather than admit this, she replied simply, "Yes, it is… Thank you." She gave him a grateful smile and managed, if only for a moment, to swallow her fears and predisposed notions as an unspoken, supplemental form of thanks.

Lord Iroh beamed. "Wonderful! I am very glad to hear it! You'll find your belongings already unpacked and stowed away. If you notice you are missing something or have forgotten anything, feel free to let me know. We shall do our very best to replace it for you." Then his sighed and rubbed his hands together, "Well my dear, I think that about covers everything." He paused at the door, "If you need anything at all do not hesitate to ask, everyone on this ship shall be at your beck and call!"

"That's really not necessary," Katara replied. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Nevertheless," Iroh countered with a sly grin, "I insist upon the attentions. It is one of those little pleasures I get in my old age; doting on beautiful young women." He winked.

A wide-eyed Katara blushed and looked away.

The Fire Lord chuckled at her embarrassment and reached for the door. "Enjoy your rest," he said as he shut it softly.

She was alone.

The first thing she did was unceremoniously shed her jacket, letting it fall to the floor in a heap. Next, she kicked off her shoes, and collapsed on the bed. It was softer than it looked, so easy to sink into. She snuggled into the pillow, trying to smother out the unseemly thoughts that kept encroaching and disrupting the peaceful aura of the room. Everything happened so fast and she couldn't believe she was already on her way to the Fire Nation.

Had someone told her this would happen to years ago, she would've probably taken it as an insult and water whipped who ever suggested it into the bay without remorse.

She said it to herself a few more times, finding it no easier to believe each time. 'I'm engaged to the Fire Prince. I'm engaged to the Fire Prince. I'm going to be the princess of the Fire Nation, I'll be Fire Lady someday.'

She tried to imagine it. She tried to picture herself dressed up in red and gold, the ornate crow and headdress, a still faceless, yet similarly adorned husband at her side. Nope. Nothing doing. And it really bothered her that she didn't even know what he looked like.

Was he handsome?

Did he have the face only a mother could love?

Would he be kind?

Mean?

Indifferent?

She sighed. This pondering wasn't getting her anything but a headache.

The bed was so soft. She clenched her eyes shut and focused on that. It was soft and warm. The porthole window was cracked slightly and she could hear the ocean. It was comforting to know she was so close to her element and the gentle lapping soon lulled her into a soothing, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Katara jolted awake to a resonating, metallic thud-thud-thud. It took her a couple disoriented seconds to remember where she was and another few still to realize that someone was knocking. She hastily got to her feet and rushed towards the door, tripping over her discarded jacket and tumbling to the floor in a heap. She cursed under her breath as she laid it out on her bed.

After quickly checking her hair in the mirror (and discovering it was a lost cause), she opened the door expecting to find Lord Iroh.

She was disappointed.

Instead she found a boy. He had to be a couple years younger than Katara at least as he only reached just above her chin in height. He had cropped brown hair and large hazel eyes. His smile was bright and dazzling, brimming with enthusiasm. He was dressed in a loose, faded red tunic and baggy brown pants, civilian wear if anything.

And then he bowed. There was something distinctly familiar about that, though she hadn't a clue why.

"If Miss Katara pleases," he said with a voice that also tugged at her memory in an annoyingly ambiguous way, "His Lord requested that_ I_ escort you to dinner." He sounded rather proud that he was chosen as her escort for the evening. He tilted his head up to gage her expression before returning to up-right posture. She noticed he kept his back ramrod straight, perhaps to try and make himself taller? Unfortunately it did little to help.

He held out his hand for her, "My name's Zinso, but everybody calls me Zin."

"It's nice to meet you," Katara grinned as they shook hands, but for some reason, something irked her about his name. So many things about this boy seemed to nag at her, though it was nothing she felt any sane person could lay blame to. "Zinso, that's an… _interesting_ name."

He shrugged one shoulder haplessly and with the action all formality seemed to evaporate from him. "My Ma and Pa wanted to name me after Fire Lord Sozin, but that was forbidden, so they improvised. It's kind of a stupid name if you ask me. That's why I go by Zin."

Well, the mystery of his name now made sense. Zinso was practically Sozin, so no wonder it bothered her. "Forbidden…? How come?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "The Fire Lord's name is sacred," he explained as if it were the stupidest notion in the world. "Or, at least it was. I don't think people get in trouble for naming their kids after them anymore, but these days who'd want to?"

Katara shrugged. She certainly wouldn't.

"Well, come on, Fire Lord Iroh's expecting us," he said cheerfully, gesturing down the hall.

The waterbender's stomach grumbled in anticipation. "Right, just give me a second." She ducked back into her room and quickly ran a brush through her hair –which did little to help; her hair was so thick and stubborn. Frustrated and very near starving, she rummaged around the vanity table and hastily found a clip that she used to hold her hair in place all piled up on top of her head. Finally, she slipped on a pair of shoes and hurried to Zin's side. Together they half walked and half ran to the dinning hall.

Laughter drifted from the warmly lit archway. Inside, Lord Iroh sat with another man, maybe just a few years his junior. It was the younger man that saw them first. He jumped to his feet and bowed at the waist, his arms out, bent at the elbows in a perfect right angle, one of his hands balled into a fist resting in the palm of his rigidly straight second. (Katara realized she was becoming sick of this particular formality).

"Lady Katara," he promptly said as his head dipped low, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am General Jee, at your service." When he resumed standing posture, his face bore little warmth. He struck Katara as a hardened, world-weary man.

"Nice to meet you," Katara replied timidly. She couldn't seem to force her feet to move her past the doorway.

"Come, come," Iroh beckoned congenially. He, too, got to his feet. "We have been waiting for you in earnest. Please, sit."

Katara nodded shyly, while Zin eagerly tugged her towards the table. She was seated at the Fire Lord's left, General Jee sat directly across from her at his left and Zin took the position at Katara's left. Under the direct scrutiny of the hard-eyed general, Katara could not relax.

Unable to think of anything else and desperate to break, what to the others might have been a companionable silence but to her was torture, she dipped her head in Iroh's direction and somberly said, "Thank you, Lord Iroh, for the dinner invitation."

To which said Lord responded with guttural laughter.

The waterbender's head shot up sharply, bewildered at the guffaws the old man had at her expense. Zin, too began to snicker, though the girl had a feeling he just did as the Fire Lord did with no idea whatsoever why. Even the General condescended himself to smirk. She blinked, heat flooding her cheeks.

"There is no need to be so formal and stiff, you act almost as if you are to be the main course," Iroh said at length, wiping stray tears of laughter from the creases of his eyes. "Come my dear, sample some wine and try to relax. There is absolutely nothing to fear; tonight you dine among friends."

Katara nodded and tried to choke down the dread of humiliation. She hated it when people laughed at her. She hated feeling so out of her element, so foreign.

Iroh sighed, reading the discomfort in Katara's posture and downward cast eyes. "Perhaps you will feel a little better with some food in your stomach," he kindly supposed. "I did some asking around and discovered your favorite meal." At that, an attendant arrived with a large, silver platter. He set it in the center of the low table and lifted the lid, revealing seared fish garnished with mango chutney and a steaming bowl of stewed sea prunes.

The wonderful aroma drifted under Katara's nose, evoking a deep rumble from her stomach. Yes, she highly agreed with Iroh, a little food would make her feel worlds better.

* * *

Katara awoke the next morning and was ashamed to realize she had not slept so well in ages. Of course, Lord Iroh had sent her a cup of calming tea before bed, which probably had something to do with it. And in all fairness, the past couple nights had been rather stressful, not to mention before that she'd been traveling (and in conditions far inferior to her current situation). She sighed at sat up in her bed, not at all sure what to do with herself. She could see the cheery sunlight poking through the curtains in her porthole window and feel the gentle tug of the ocean. It was so peaceful and serene and pleasant.

She hated it.

She was not supposed to feel comfortable in these surroundings at all, no matter what efforts the Fire Lord (she repeated the offending title to herself once more for effect) went through to ensure she was. And to top it off, she felt so listless. What, exactly, was she supposed to do all day? Granted, she'd been given leave to go wherever she wanted on the ship (except the boiler room, but that was for her own safety more than anything, and if she really wanted to see it, Lord Iroh assured her he could arrange a tour).

She felt fine in her room, which was filled with her own belongings and a sinfully comfortable bed, but beyond the door was a ship full of armed sailors. Men, young and old; General Jee and his judgmental stare among them. She couldn't very well go sit and chat with them over a nice cup of tea, nor did she find the prospect particularly desirable.

Timidly, she willed herself out of the warm confines of the bed and peeked her head out the door. She was surprised to find a servant stationed right outside. He bowed to her in the same fashion General Jee had the night before.

"Does miss desire breakfast? Or perhaps a warm bath?" he asked.

Katara blinked. She hadn't realized it until he suggested it, breakfast and a bath was exactly what she wanted.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky. Katara, fed and bathed, sat atop a large crate on deck, Zin leaned against the side of it with a ridiculous grin on his face. Sailors milled around, occasionally they would cast curious glances at the waterbender, but otherwise they left her alone. They probably had no idea what to think of her, and she hoped that when they did manage to form some opinions, they wouldn't be bad.

She sighed, wishing briefly for a moment where she wouldn't have to worry about her appearance again. She glanced at Zin, he'd been assigned as her companion on the voyage. He was the closest person to her age on board. "Say," Katara began lazily. "How old are you anyway?"

"Thirteen," the boy replied.

"Thirteen," Katara repeated. "That's pretty young to be a soldier."

Zin shrugged nonchalantly, but his voice was marked with smugness. "I'm a special case, hand-picked by Lord Iroh himself!"

"Tin Can here is more of a foot soldier than anything else. He likes to stretch the truth a bit. I'd be careful of him if I were you, Miss." A sailor laughed as he walked by, a spool of rope around his arm.

Katara gave Zin an arched look. "Tin Can?"

Zin scowled. "The uniform doesn't fit me that well," he explained defensively. "I look a little bulky in it so the guys started calling me Tin Can. Can we please just talk about something else, please?"

She smirked, but complied. "Sure, alright. I've been wondering something anyway, and maybe you can help me."

"Sure, if I can."

"What can you tell me about Prince Zuko?"

"Um…" He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I guess I can't tell you much. I never really spoke to him before. He's kind of quiet. And tall, I guess. Oh, well, and there's the scar too, but everyone knows about that. Let's see…"

"Wait, what scar?"

Zin looked baffled. "What scar? You've got to be kidding me! That's like, his claim to fame!"

"I've never seen him! And I didn't exactly ever go asking around for stories about him either," she snapped. "I'm engaged to the man and I don't even know what he looks like." Again, the realization left a bitter residue. She sighed and slouched over. "How bleak."

"Geez, cut the drama already, I'll tell you!" Zin declared. "He's got a scar on his left eye, but Lord Iroh doesn't really like telling people how he got it. He says it's Prince Zuko's story to tell." Then, the boy shifted his eyes from side to side, making sure the coast was clear. He leaned over and whispered conspiratorially into Katara's ear, "But I have it on good authority that General Jee knows. I also know that if the esteemed General has a little too much to drink, his lips become pretty loose."

The waterbender contemplated the new information, "That's all well and good, but how the heck am I supposed to get him drunk?"

At that moment, as if the gods themselves were answering her question, Lord Iroh appeared on deck with a wide grin on his face. "Miss Katara, I'm glad I found you! I was just looking at the calendar in my office and it turns out that tonight is music night! I'd nearly forgotten about it in all the excitement of your arrival, but I'm glad that you'll be on board for it! You'll be quite surprised to see how musically adept this crew can be!"

"Great!" Katara replied with a forced smile (and equally forced enthusiasm), which she held until the Fire Lord left. Then she whispered to Zin, "What is music night, and should I be afraid?"

Zin smiled deviously. "Oh, you'll enjoy music night, don't you worry. Especially General Jee's rendition of 'The Girls of Ba Sing Sei'."

Katara was taken aback. "He sings?"

"Only when he's wasted," he confided with a sing-song voice.

Katara regarded him, the cogs in her brain slowly working.

"Tin Can, you're a genius."

* * *

Katara couldn't have pictured the scene if she'd tried. The General stood proud before his captivated audience, reducing the even the most burly and manly looking men to sobbing little girls with a heart-wrenching love song she'd never heard before. He wasn't half bad either, for an untrained soldier that is, not to suggest she would ever want to witness his musical prowess again. _Ever_. Still it was quite the spectacle, and never had she ever thought she would witness something so innocent, so non-threatening (at least in the conventional way) while amongst the war-hardened soldiers, sitting beside the Fire Lord no less.

There was a moment of shuffling as the General took his leave as the center of attention to let some other person have an opportunity to astound and amaze. Zin nudged Katara in the side and gestured with his head towards the alcohol-influenced man. She took the hint; now was her chance to finally, _finally_ get some answers. She politely excused herself from the Fire Lord's side, not that he took much notice; he was quite preoccupied showering the current performer with enthusiastic praise.

She found General Jee rosy cheeked, sitting on an overturned barrel. He slapped his thigh and sloshed his sake-filled mug in tune (or just slightly off) to the music. Katara sidled up to the ever-so-cautiously inebriated General, smiling politely to hide her unease as he jostled against her while swaying exuberantly to the song. She was pleased to find he was a whole lot less intimidating after she heard his voice crack a couple times during those few moments in the song he couldn't quite get the right pitch.

"You have a wonderful voice," she told him, speaking perhaps a little louder than necessary to ensure that she would get his attention.

He graced her with a short nod and raised his mug a little in thanks for her compliment, then returned his attention to the current performer. It appeared that was as much of an invitation as she would get. It would have to do. She took a seat on the barrel next to him, making herself comfortable since she didn't plan on going anywhere for a while, at least not until she wheedled out some answers.

"So," she said conversationally, playing with the tips of her hair, "have you ever met Prince Zuko?"

Unfortunately for Katara, the question seemed to sober the man up some. He set down his mug and rubbed his chin. "Yes, I served on his ship for something like four years. Been through a lot with his highness."

Jackpot. "What's he like?" She asked eagerly, leaning forward ready to hang on his every word. "I mean, I don't really know anything about him and he and I are, you know, engaged and everything."

"Well…" Jee hesitated. "He was… motivated." He flitted his hand out in a gesture that did little to help the girl's confusion. Then he took a rather hefty swig from his mug, smacking his lips a little. It was awe inspiring in a way, that he could drink such strong and biting liquor like it was nothing more than water. But Katara ignored that.

She sat back, letting the solitary, single, and completely unhelpful word sink in. Motivated. That was good thing… sometimes. Unless, you know, he was motivated the way Sozin had been motivated, in which case it was a very, very bad thing. Her head cocked to the side in curiosity. "How so?"

"Erm," the General articulated, waving his hand in small circles as if to beckon the words forth. The alcohol again seemed to do nothing to aid Katara in her quest. She would have to give Zin a good talking to later. (She took a moment to glance over at said-boy, who was giving her the thumbs-up. She fought the urge to roll her eyes.) "Prince Zuko never gives up." He nodded, proud of what he'd come up with, and downed a bit more of his sake.

But, of course, that too did nothing for Katara's peace of mind, because she was aware that motivated people, on the whole, avoided giving up, she being one of them and all. She'd have to be more specific if she wanted tangible answers. "What made him like that, do you think?" She prodded as innocently as she could.

"Hmm," he rubbed his stubbled chin. "He got banished. Tha'd do it to anybody, I think. He had to find the Avatar and he didn' quit. In fac'," he said, his eyes lighting up as he relayed the extent of the Fire Prince's evident motivation, "he almost didn' quit even when Lor'Roh started to take over. Agni knows he'd probably still be chasing after his father's smoke trail if it weren' for-" He stopped there, his bloodshot eyes suddenly wide.

"If it weren't for what?" Katara prompted greedily, all innocence and nonchalance conspicuously absent and replaced with somewhat of a whine. Of course he'd stop right when it was getting good... It seemed to be that the only that the only the alcohol effected was the General's dropping of end consonants. Not helpful, even remotely.

"You'll have to ask him about that. You'll meet him soon enough," he shrugged haplessly. But then he must have noticed her down-trodden expression because he continued, "He's not a bad sort of guy, he just hasn' had the… easiest life. I know he is royal an' all, but all th'money n' power in the world doesn' mean you're gonna be happy. I s'pose what I'm trying to say is, for all his failings and faults, Prin'Zko's a good man."

He was a good man.

…For all his failings and faults.

That was like saying, 'This is a perfectly good hunk of cheese, you know, if you eat around the moldy bits and avoid the dirt.' Completely noncommittal. Completely useless. She groaned into her hands.

The General tapped her shoulder with clumsy concern. "Chu okay?"

* * *

There was a crack in her window coverings, Katara noted dourly early the next morning. It enabled a slim streak of light to fall directly over her eyes were she lie in bed, unwilling to get up, even just to adjust it so the light hit elsewhere. She blinked, arms stretched over her head, almost as if in defeat. She rolled over on to her side, which helped a little, and sighed.

It was really, horribly unfair. She had plans, after all. She had hopes and dreams. She had a life, or would have had something worth calling one soon enough. She felt distinctly like a prized beast of burden just sold off at market, now being shipped off either to pasture or to slaughter. It was anyone's guess which one, really. She didn't even have an inkling as to what to expect, except, perhaps, a borderline-indecent amount of bowing.

After her rather disappointing and unsatisfying conference with General Jee the night before, she was a little worse for the ware. Zin pulled her aside afterwards to hear the goods, but, being as there were none to tell, all she did was pushed past him with a slight growl and stomp off, unescorted, to her room. All riled up with crushed hopes, she was far too worked up for sleep and spent half the night lamenting her life. And now, as the streak of light managed to get a bit thicker and find her eyes again, she really felt the sting of fatigue.

There was a soft tapping at her door.

She ignored it, burying her head under her pillow with a stifled moan.

The tapping paused for a moment, only to begin again with increased fervor. Evidently, the person on the other side wasn't getting the hint. Still, Katara resisted, tugging the pillow tighter over her ears.

But the tapping did not stop. No, instead it became more of an impatient pounding, accompanied by a muffled, "Oh come on, Katara, you can't actually be mad at me about last night! I thought for sure he'd tell you something! You can't blame _me_ for that!"

The waterbender sighed. Zin. Rolling over in reluctant resignation, she called back, "What do you want, Tin Can?"

There was a pause before his response; she could almost see him shuffling his feet. "Can I come in?"

She pondered this. It probably wouldn't be proper to let the boy in her room, especially given that she was still in her nightgown, which was rather thin and… No, it was best to make him wait. She'd get up.

"No, just give me a minute and I'll open the door," she replied with an exasperated tone, angrily throwing back the covers and getting to her feet. She ambled over to the armoire and pulled on the brass dragon tail, which rotated out of a little hitch. The door swung open easily, a full-length mirror was fixed to the inside, allowing her to view with horror her disheveled state. Sleep deprivation, evidently, did not agree with her. At least, she consoled herself, her hair was in a mostly reasonable state for once. She'd discovered a wonderful little hair serum during her bath the previous morning that managed to achieve the impossible as far as unruly, thick hair was concerned.

Realizing she was keeping the poor boy waiting, she quickly dressed and splashed a little water on her face from the washbowl on her vanity in effort to freshen up a bit. It didn't do much to combat the bags under her eyes, but then she was convinced that nothing would. As a final touch, she ran her brush through her pleasantly tangle-free hair.

Zin was leaning against the wall when she finally got around to opening the door. He heaved an impatient sigh. "Finally," he said. "You took forever."

She rolled her eyes. "What was it you wanted, anyway?" She still hadn't quite forgiven him for last night. Of course, the happy-go-lucky kid did not seem to notice any edge to her voice at all. It was far too much effort to stay angry at him.

"Lord Iroh sent for you," he explained. "He said he wanted to discuss some things with you over a cup of tea."

"How long ago did he send you?" she asked, paling slightly. She had a hard time imagining the congenial Fire Lord being angry with her for keeping him waiting a couple extra minutes, but then again she also had trouble imagining General Jee singing his heart out about star-crossed lovers. It wasn't something she really wanted to test.

He shrugged. "I dunno, fifteen, twenty minutes maybe?"

Katara 'eeped' and pushed past him, rushing down the hall. When she realized he wasn't right behind her, she paused and glanced back over her shoulder. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

Zin still leaned against the wall, an amused smirk on his smug little face. "Katara, tell me, do you even know where Lord Iroh is?"

"I… well… um… No." She muttered at length.

The younger boy chuckled, his bony shoulders shaking up and down. He used the leg he had propped against the wall to push himself up. "I figured as much, seeing as you're going in the wrong direction and everything."

She flushed. "Nice of you to tell me."

"Hey, you ran off before I even hand a chance. I just wondered when you would realize you had no clue where you were going." He grinned at her and gestured over his shoulder. "Come on, can't keep his Lordship waiting forever."

Katara smiled sardonically at herself, shaking her head a little, and followed after him.

* * *

"Ah, Zin, Katara," Iroh beamed as they appeared in his doorway. "Come in, come in! I've been expecting you."

"Yes, sorry about that," Katara replied timidly, rubbing her arm. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting."

"It's no problem at all, I assure you." He motioned for her to take a seat and then turned to Zin. "Thank you, my boy. I'll send Katara to find you once we are done here. You're dismissed."

Zin took on the posture of a solider and saluted the Fire Lord, Iroh returned the sentiment, chuckling as the boy marched purposefully out of the office and shut the door behind him. "He is an interesting young fellow, I must say."

"Yeah," Katara agreed. "But he's a nice kid. He's been a good friend to me since I've been here."

"Good, I was hoping for that." He tapped idly on the desk. "I figured it would make your stay on board more comfortable if you had someone closer to your own age to hang around with, and I'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who that boy can't get along with."

"Hm," Katara murmured in accord.

"Ah, but of course!" He cried, "I've invited you here for tea!" He quickly poured her a cup and sat back, giving her a moment to savor it. "I suppose you're curious about this meeting. I guess we should just get right on to business." He cleared his throat and folded his hands neatly in front of him. "As you are probably aware, we will land in the Fire Nation tomorrow."

Katara nearly choked on the jasmine tea, and fell into a bit of a coughing fit. With shaking hands, she set the teacup back on the table and tried to calm her nerves. She took a deep breath to steel herself against anything else the Fire Lord might have to say.

"I realize it's all a bit daunting to you, but I promise that it won't be that bad, maybe just a bit of culture shock, but I am sure that, given time, you will adjust and fit in beautifully, that is the nature of water, your element. Am I right?" He gave her a comforting smile.

She couldn't find her voice just yet and resorted to a sort of squeak for a response.

Iroh couldn't help but feel guilty at how nervous she looked. He could only imagine what must be running through her head. Unfortunately, there was no getting around what he had to talk about and it was best she hear about it now as opposed to later. "However, there are certain things that might be expected of you. For example, when we land, my nephew will be there to greet us. The entire thing will be highly ceremonial and subject to an audience, my guess, a fairly large audience as I suspect my people will be itching with curiosity about you."

"W-what will I have to do?" she asked, glad she'd finally found her voice, but a little ashamed at how shaky it was.

"We will get to that later. For now, there are a few things I feel you should know about my nephew before you meet him." At that, Iroh's eyes glinted mischievously. "I happened to hear that you are a bit curious on that subject, hmm?"

Katara blushed and stiffened. "I, uh,-"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of!" Iroh laughed. "Given the circumstances it is really only natural that you are curious. So, allow me to shed light on a few mysteries."

"Can you tell me about his scar?" She was suddenly eager, all apprehension melted away in stead of her unyielding curiosity. Everyone was making such a big deal out of it; there must be some fantastic story behind it.

"Unfortunately, no."

And once again, her efforts were thwarted.

"I feel quite deeply that it is something Prince Zuko must choose to confined in people," he explained, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It was not a pleasant experience for him at all, as you can possibly imagine. However, this presents a good segue. You see, he is sensitive about his scar, especially since it is in such a visible location. If-"

"I won't stare, if that's what you're implying," Katara narrowed her eyes, "I know better than that."

Lord Iroh chuckled. "Of course you do. You are a very considerate young woman. I did not mean any insult by it, just a warning, incase it caught you off guard."

Satisfied with is answer, she settled back down. "Okay, so you can't tell me about the scar, I understand that. But what can you tell me about him?"

Iroh launched into a brief summary of the Prince's attitudes, habits, and general routine, remaining annoyingly ambiguous in many regards. Katara was convinced he was hiding something, but knowing (albeit as little as she did) the Fire Lord, it could be just about anything. However, she did not have much time to dwell on that as he then switched to a discussion of the following day's festivities. Essentially, Katara was to be demure, pretty, but most important, absolutely silent. She would meet the mysterious Prince Zuko once she disembarked and all the ridiculous ceremony would begin, complete with a sure-to-be uncomfortable palanquin ride with his royal highness all the way back to the palace. Although Iroh did not specify the exact distance between the dock and the palace, Katara was just positive, given her luck, that it would be long. Very, very, very long.

* * *

The meeting over, Katara ambled back to her room, not up for conversation or company. She sat down on her bed, now made and probably fixed with clean linens (she was amazed at how this always seemed to happen when she was gone, never had she ever caught any sight of the elusive maintenance crew). She lay back against the pillow and stared up at the cold, dark, metal ceiling. She wondered how her family fared without her, if the horrible man (Yann was his name, wasn't it?) had shed any light on what was brewing up North. She snorted. No doubt Kuto would be able to keep him under control, that man couldn't even manage to bend under a new moon. She hadn't experienced that kind of bending issue since she was a little girl.

Her brow creased. Once again, she couldn't seem to get passed how close her father had come to death. What if it hadn't been the new moon that night? What if Yann had been able to bend? Perhaps he was a better bender than he was with his arrow? Then again… perhaps that didn't say much. Of course, that sparked a new question: why would the North send someone so evidently incompetent to do the deed? It really didn't make any sense.

But it wasn't doing her any good to focus on this, not with everything that would happen tomorrow. She would finally meet him, her future husband (she cringed at that thought). She rolled over on to her stomach and groaned. 'Focus on happy thoughts,' she counseled herself, 'Think about fluffy clouds and baby animals, Sokka doing something stupid…' The last one might have been a mistake. She missed her older brother terribly; their goodbye still stung fresh in her mind.

Then, suddenly, she perked up, sat up on the bed. "Wait a minute," she murmured to herself. Hadn't Sokka said he left her something in one of her trunks? With that, she jumped from the bed and began rummaging around her room, searching under the bed, in the armoire and finally the vanity, all the while cursing the fact that some faceless force had unpacked for her. She didn't know exactly what she was looking for, but figured she would probably know it when she found it.

Then, just when she was about to lose hope, she opened one last drawer, the bottom, right-hand one to be exact, on the vanity. In there, she found a small parcel, poorly wrapped with paper and twine. Definitely Sokka's handiwork. She lifted it, finding it to be heavier than it looked. The twine came away easily, and she discovered that the first paper was a note.

_Dear Katara,_

_This was supposed to be your birthday present, but, you know, due to circumstances beyond my control (I still say you should have just stayed here), I won't be able to see you on said day. Still, I wanted you to have this, you know, just in case. (Um, in case someone else is reading this, someone Fire Nation, I don't mean she use it on the Prince. Or the Fire Lord. Um… yeah. Actually, I'd really prefer she didn't use it on anyone, she being my baby sister and all.) _

_Ehem, as I was saying… I'm not really that good at girly stuff –_Katara snorted at that; hadn't Sokka once gone to great lengths to match a bag to his belt?- _, so I figured I'd find you something practical instead. I meant it though, when I said I hoped you'd never have to use it, but I also hope that it helps you feel safe wherever you go and reminds you that I'm always going to watch out for you. _

_Oh, I also made you a picture so you would be able to remember what all of us look like for when we visit you in a couple months._

_Stay safe, don't talk to strangers, and for the love of the gods, don't eat the Fire Flakes!_

_Love,_

_Sokka_

Katara smiled at the letter, a tear fresh in her eye. Even from afar, no one could cheer her up like Sokka could. Taking a moment to compose herself, she unraveled the next paper, curious to see what, exactly, Sokka had given her. It was a sheathed dagger. The sheath was leather, engraved with a feminine, floral design; the same design was mimicked on the dagger's handle. She pulled it out slightly, discovering a simplified version of the design etched into the polished metal of the blade. It was beautiful. She nearly burst into tears at the thoughtfulness of her brother, far too emotional under the weight of the circumstances.

There was a knock at the door. For some reason, Katara felt the need to hide the present and hastily stuck it back in the drawer, along with the letter. Why would anyone care about a little dagger when she could be fare more lethal with her bending? She didn't know, but it still felt like the right course of action. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Zin's voice replied. "Lord Iroh said you'd come find me when your meeting was done, but you didn't."

"Oh, sorry! I completely forgot!" Realizing how foolish it was to hold a conversation through a closed door, she let him inside.

He got a funny look on his face and pointed to something on the floor behind her. "What's that?"

Katara panicked for a second. Had she shut the drawer all the way? Then she realized what he was really pointing at. It was the picture Sokka drew for her. She hadn't even looked at it yet, having forgone that pleasure to see the gift. She picked it and examined it. The figure she assumed was herself looked more like a rabbitmonkey with a jump rope, Sokka's figure appeared to be making a lewd hand gesture (but upon closer inspection she assumed he was just holding his boomerang), Suki looked more like a small mountain with a face (evidently he decided to draw her in her Kyoshi Warrior armor), next came a withered looking nut-type thing which was probably Gran Gran (if she squinted, it kind of had a face), and there was a group of three men that all looked remarkably similar except for a couple minute details, like an X over one of the eyes in the center figure (their father), or the deep frown and almost bugged-out eyes on the figure on the left (probably Kuto, Sokka didn't like Kuto much), and finally, the last one she assumed must be Bato, if only because there was no one else it could be. "It's a picture my brother drew for me so I would remember all of them," she explained with a wry smile as she handed it to Zin.

"No offense, Katara, but if you use this as a basis for what your family looks like, you might be in for a bit of a shock later." He scrutinized it for a second. "And you said your brother drew this? The older boy with the ponytail?"

"Yes…" She knew what was coming.

"Well," he rubbed the back of his head as he handed it back to her. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize he was… you know…" Zin made a circle motion with his index finger near his temple.

Katara promptly keeled over in laughter. "You think he's-? He's-? Ohhh, I can't wait to tell him that." She wiped a tear from her eye. "No, he's normal, mostly… just not so good when it comes to art." She righted herself as something clicked in her mind. "Say, wait a minute, how do you know what he looks like? I don't remember seeing you when we came to the ship for dinner, or at all when we were…" She stopped there; not exactly keen on talking about the incident that had her father back on the White Lotus.

"Duh," Zin said with all the wisdom of a thirteen year old boy, "who do you think delivered the invitation in the first place?"

Katara's eyes widened. She managed only to say, "Oh," before bursting into another fit of laughter. And suddenly it made sense why he had seemed so frustratingly familiar to her when they'd first met…

The boy was a bit indignant as a result. He glared at her, but it was hardly threatening. "What's so funny about that? It was highly important, official business that the Fire Lord entrusted specifically to me!"

"Sorry, I was just thinking how you basically called my brother touched in the head when we all thought the same thing about you!" She snickered again, feeling a little bad because he now looked absolutely mortified.

He huffed, crossed his arms and looked away.

Now feeling completely guilty, Katara put a hand on his shoulder and said in a gentle, apologetic voice, "Hey, I'm sorry, I was only poking a little fun." As an added incentive to forgive her, she said, "And if it's any consolation, I thought the armor fit you well."

Zin perked up at that, his trademark grin resurrected as he glanced back at her. "Really?"

* * *

It was late. Katara was back in bed, distraught by the forlorn realization that it would be her last night in it. She clutched a steaming cup of tea, which she'd been assured contained a strong additive that brought sleep on quickly. She certainly hoped so because there was no way she was getting any rest on her own. She took a sip and gagged. Of course the only thing that would bring her a good night's sleep would taste like tree bark.

Throwing caution to the wind, she cooled the liquid a bit with her bending and then chugged it down, willing her gag reflex to stay dormant. Once it was gone, she pushed the offending cup away with disdain. She hoped never to be so desperate for sleep again.

She extinguished the small lamp at her bedside in anticipation and snuggled down into the blankets, only to kick them off again. It was now much too hot for all of them. She grimaced. Yet another reminder of what was to come in the morning. Of course, she didn't have too much time to dwell on it as the tea worked just as quickly as was promised.

All her mind saw as the last wisps of consciousness left her was ambiguous face of her future husband, a black silhouette against the sun, a scar barely visible in the shadows over his left eye.

* * *

**  
AN: **Well, I hope that wasn't too painful. At least you know what's gonna happen in the next installment! (Which hopefully shouldn't take me as long to get out because it shouldn't be so hard to write. Zuko and Katara pretty much write for themselves when they get together (or at least this is what I am hoping...)) Get stoked everybody! The Ice Arc is FINISHED! (This "Interlude" is a sort of "between Arc" deal.) Next time, the post shall be within the much-coveted Fire Arc. Exciting.

I guess I should start kissing ass over how late this came out. (My original intention was to get it out yesterday after I got off work, but instead I was called away to one last hurah for some good friends of mine who are moving across country, like today.) But yeah, I've turned twenty since the last chapter was posted... And had a contagious illness. And worked a lot. And had massive writer's block. (Did I mention that I hated writing this chapter? Don't get me wrong, I loved some of the scenes (General Jee's musical endeavors, enough said), and I have a soft spot for Zin, but dear lord, I'm so happy it's finished, however weakly it was done.) At over 8,000 words, I hope you all enjoyed it too!

Oh, thanks so much to all those review, fav, story alert, author alert, all that jazz! You guys are amazing, thanks for your support!

I shall now open up the opportunity for you all to bitch at me about how long I took to update, or give me constructive crit, or whatever floats your boat (in a review, if you please).

Love ya,

-ER-


	6. The Palanquin Ride

**AN: **Hey readers, if there are any of you still left after all this time... I apologize for the wait, but I won't bother you with any of the sordid details here, as I've got enough of them lurking around my profile and my livejournal. I will, however, inform you all that I am in the market for a Beta... Hopefully when I've acquired one, my fic will be a bit more of a pleasurable read. (That said, if you could suggest anyone, or if you think you've got the stuff to tackle this monster, let me know via PM!)

Anyway, this is the much-coveted "first meeting" chapter. Knock your socks off, kids.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything.

* * *

**Pragmatic**

_An A:TLA Fic brought to you by:_

_Electric Risk _

* * *

**Arc II**: Fire

**Scroll Five:** The Palanquin Ride

* * *

"Time to wake up, my lady!" a feminine voice bellowed none too gently in the Katara's ear. "We've got much to do in preparation for your arrival!"

The young woman jumped in a start and cracked an eye open. Bright blotches of red and gold greeted her that slowly focused into an ornately dressed woman with a cross look on her pale face; meticulously painted and made-up. She wore flowing robes in the royal Fire Nation colors of red and gold, a gilded flame insignia pendant about the size of a fist dangled from a long, delicate chain, resting around where her navel might be located underneath all the layers of fine silk and cloth. "What time is it?" she asked blearily, noting that the room was lit by nothing but candlelight. "And who are you?"

"It's early," the impatient woman snapped. "And I am Lady Ai, at your service. Now get up! We've much to do and little time to do it in!"

Katara was corralled out of bed and into the dragon shaped tub. The pulling and prodding and hasty disrobing was culminated by the shock of the ice-cold water. As soon as she was in, a bucket of equally frigid water was poured over her head. She sputtered and coughed, having accidentally inhaled some of it. "W-why is it s-so c-cold?" she shivered, feeling distinct betrayal by her element.

"Wakes you up," the woman replied hastily, preoccupied with Katara's torture (or at least that was how it seemed to the girl). "Makes your skin paler, though I think you might be a lost cause in that respect." She sighed then positioned herself behind the head of the tub. Pulling clips from a well-concealed pocket, she pinned up her flowing sleeves, and began massaging floral scented soap into Katara's hair.

Katara took this as an opportunity to gather her bearings. She adjusted to the water's freezing temperature in mere moments, having spent so much time around it at home. The harsh woman had a gentle touch when it came to her ministrations with her head and the soap had a soothing fragrance, like jasmine though she couldn't say for sure. She was almost relaxed into the water until it occurred to her that she was naked in front of a complete stranger. She emitted a strangled noise of surprise before folding her legs against her chest for some semblance of modesty.

Lady Ai huffed, though continued right on rubbing the soap into her scalp and down the length of her tresses. "Oh please, it's not like you've got anything I haven't seen before. Besides, do you really think Lord Iroh would let anyone near you who meant you harm? Relax, child, before you break into a rash. I simply do not have the time nor the equipment to deal with such a predicament right now. Sunrise is in little more than an hour and you are by no means presentable."

Katara took offense to that and would have said as much had not the woman dumped another bucket of cold water over her head. She glared at her torturer, who in turn didn't so much as bat an eyelash.

Instead, she produced a loofah and dropped in the tub. "Here," she said rising to her feet. The joints in her knees cracked, giving only a vague clue to her age as she straightened up. "Scrub yourself clean quickly," she directed regally while drying her hands off on a towel. "I'm going to go fetch another attendant, I'll be only a moment." She left a void behind her as she exited, and silence all but for the sound of lapping water in the tub and the creaking of the ship. Katara was so accustomed to both sounds by now that she barely registered them.

She shook her head in quiet disbelief, but grabbed the spongy implement nonetheless. It was far too early to get worked up about anything and she had a sinking feeling that things would only get worse before they got better.

When she finished with her bath, she quickly dried herself, bending the water off her skin and hair. Evidently, Lady Ai did not approve of this particular course of action as she quickly put a stop to it the second she arrived back in the room. "Stop! We have to dry your hair straight! You may dry the rest of your body off, but for the love of the gods, do not touch your hair!"

She sighed, and let her cold, damp hair tumble down her back. She slipped into a plain white shift the woman held out to her, and then she was led to a chair in front of her vanity that had, at some point, been brought into her room while she was unawares. At this point, Lady Ai appraised her with a critical eye.

"Hmm," she said, her lips pulled into a tight, calculating frown. Her bony fingers latch on to Katara's chin and turned her face into various angles. "You have a good complexion, lovely eyes, your nose is bearable, but your eyebrows need some work. If only your skin wasn't so dark, I wouldn't have half so much work ahead of me… but I suppose some things can't be helped." She sighed and kneeled down to shuffle through the many implements sitting on the vanity table.

Katara didn't know how to react. Had the staunchy woman actually complimented her? Or was that another insult?

The woman straightened, goopy white blobs on each of her hands. She positioned herself behind Katara and began running it through her hair. "This will help your hair to straighten, make it easier to comb and style, and will protect it from the heat."

"Heat? Is the Fire Nation really that hot?"

The woman's eyebrow arched, Katara watched her reflection in the mirror. "It can get rather warm here, yes. However, that wasn't the heat I referred to. In a moment my assistant will be here to dry your hair with her firebending. It can, at times, be a bit harsh on hair."

"F-firebending?" Katara stuttered. "I-is that safe?"

The regal lady threw her head back in a delicate laugh. "Of course, child. This is standard procedure. My assistant is extremely skilled at what she does, you don't have a thing to worry about. She knows how to produce flameless heat, your face may get a bit warm, but you, by no means, stand the risk of getting burned. More color is the last thing you need in your skin."

"What is so bad about my skin? So I'm a little tan, big deal! Why do you have such a problem with it?" Katara demanded, twisting her body to glare at the woman.

The woman's eyes widened at the outburst, her hands paused in their work, rubbing the goo in to the thick, wet, hair. "Why do I have a problem with it?" she parroted back.

Katara nodded, staring her in the eye.

"I don't have a problem with it at all, aside from all the extra work it's giving me," she shrugged. "Pale skin is the Fire Nation ideal. It is considered the skin of the gods, and as royalty is considered only one step below godliness, they must represent those ideals. It's only for the ceremony, you understand. It's nothing personal; nobody expects this to be your true coloring, anyone's true coloring for that matter."

Katara crumpled back into her seat glumly. "Oh."

The woman sighed, and continued with her ministrations in Katara's hair. "Don't worry about it. All you have to do is look pretty, keep your back straight, your hands clasped in front of you, and your mouth shut. Also, don't smile. The initial meeting of the betrothed is considered a very serious affair. By behaving in a subdued, submissive, and sobering way, you appear to be a picture of piety, innocence, and obedience; a perfect Fire Nation bride."

Katara's jaw dropped as her nails dug into the armrests of the chair. Her pupils shrank to pinpoints when she met Lady Ai's glance in the mirror. "But that's not who I am at all!"

Lady Ai smirked, a slight curl of her red-painted lips. "That's entirely beside the point. It's all a show, my lady. All of it, right down to the costume and makeup. It's tradition, something started well back before the onset of the Great War. The Fire Nation is a proud country, and while we have to humble ourselves with our mistakes of the last century, we still stand true to our practices that predate our… ill-guided times. It's all we have left to pride ourselves on and it would do you good to stick to these traditions while in public eye."

"How can I be expected to live here if I'm not even allowed to be myself?"

The find woman shook her head. "Oh my lady, allow me to give you this piece of wisdom: what goes on behind palace walls is your own business. So long as there isn't a state dinner, an address of the public, or any sort of ceremony, you're free to behave and act as you choose. …Within reason, of course."

"But still, that sounds like a lot of… stifling."

She shrugged, no false pretenses about her. "It is. However, once you earn the respect of the country and the admiration of the people, you can begin to act a little more freely. But enough of this chit-chat." Lady Ai turned her attention to the door, now cracked open, a young woman stood outside, her head bowed in respect.

"Come in Huo, we haven't the time to dawdle!"

Huo entered, keeping her eyes downcast and took Lady Ai's place at the back of Katara's chair. She was a short girl, but tall enough to comfortably reach the top of Katara's head, set a bit higher than her own. Unfortunately, this meant Katara could not watch her actions reflected in the mirror. She did, however, notice a pleasant warming sensation as Huo began to run her hands, starting at the scalp, down the length of her hair, a brush following.

She had to admit; her hair had never been so easily brushed before, at least not in recent memory. It was quite nice to feel the brush run through her hair without the tug of so many tangles common with hair that thick. She allowed herself to relax into a doze as the girl worked, drifting in and out of consciousness, before finally giving in to the sweet bliss of sleep.

-=-

_Images flew before her eyes, so fast the colors blurred together, as though she stood in the center of a spinning room. Slowly, things came into focus, her body felt heavy. She realized she was dressed in the same over-the-top attire as the Lady Ai, her face felt stiff under layers of make up. Before her was an impossibly steep staircase, followed by a seemingly endless torch-lined walkway, all carpeted in blood red._

_At the other end awaited her fiancé, the faceless (save for that alleged huge scar everyone was so mysterious about) man of her future life._

_She gulped in anxiousness, wanting to run the other way, but a solid wall was at her back. She had no choice but to move forward. She tentatively placed a foot on the first step, but, when she lifted the second, the weight of her attire got the best of her, sending her tumbling head first down and down the long staircase._

-=-

Katara jumped in her seat. And jumped again when she found the wide and cautious brown eyes of Huo and the hard grey stare of Lady Ai inches from her face.

Lady Ai smirked. "You certainly have an interesting vocabulary in your sleep, my lady. Though do try to keep in mind such talk is not generally acceptable in sophisticated company. Tell me, was it a very bad dream?"

Katara blushed. Why had no one ever bothered to tell her she talked in her sleep? That she cursed in her sleep? She wondered what, exactly, she'd said, but then, what does one normally say when falling down a ridiculously steep flight of stairs? Her face grew a hue darker.

"Stop blushing!" Lady Ai commanded frantically, "I've got enough work laid out for me as it is. Now, sit up straight and try not to move a muscle in your face. Remember, moving makes the process last longer." Then she set to work, putting layer upon layer of a fine white paste.

Although her view of the mirror was blocked, Katara could tell by the tugs on her hair that Huo was working on an up-do, probably some complicated, ornate deal with golden ornaments so heavy she'd need a brace to hold her head up. She sighed. Lady Ai snapped at her for moving.

Five minutes later, Katara's face was sore from being held in place so long. Lady Ai appraised her handy work. "Well, I suppose it will do. You'll be happy to know that your hair turned out quite nicely. Good work, Huo."

"Thank you, Lady Ai," it was the first time Katara heard the girl speak. Her voice was barely a whisper. She sounded young, maybe younger than Katara.

"Now, though, we've got no time to waste! You're due to make your entrance in fifteen minutes!" Lady Ai clapped her hands, and at that instant, three ladies, almost as finely dressed as Lady Ai herself, paraded into the room.

Katara's stomach dropped to the pit of her stomach. Fifteen minutes. That wasn't much time at all. She wasn't ready! She dearly wished she had Zin with her, but given all the pomp and circumstance with this meeting, she would probably be forced to pretend she didn't even know him. She also doubted Lord Iroh would be able to comfort her any once everything got started. She didn't even dare hope that her intended was as friendly and obliging as his uncle.

Fifteen minutes passed all too quickly. Katara stood before her mirror, looking like a stranger. Her face was bleach-white, her eyes were lined in black, her lips bright red, making her hair seem darker. Her hair, oh my. It was straight, which made it extremely long. Most of it rested stiffly down her to the small of her back, while about a quarter of it was piled into a twisted design on top of her head. An ornate gilded flame-shaped comb (aided by many invisible pins and clips) held it all in place.

Her robes resembled Lady Ai's, but somehow finer, if that were possible. The fabric had a sheen to it in the candlelight. The outer robe was a deep red with an intricate stitched design of dragons and flames, nearly impossible to see for how well the color of the thread was matched with the rest of it; it was worn open. The next layer in her complicated outfit was a simple, unembroidered gold robe. It was the softest silk Katara had ever touched. (She was promptly told to stop touching it because the natural oils on her hands would ruin it.) It was in a low-cut V and tied closed with a red sash that matched her outer most layer. Below that, was a soft, white silk robe. It sat loosely around her neck, nearly exposing her shoulders, and just barely covered the crest of her breasts. Below this, was a complicated menagerie of unseen under-things that, she was promised, where highly necessary and could not be done without. To complete the look, was a pair of tiny, pinching shoes.

She did not know how she would be able to walk in all the layers and the horrible shoes, let alone sit, as she would have to in her palanquin ride alone with the prince –she gulped at the thought-.

"Ah," came a boisterous and familiar voice from the doorway. "Lady Katara, you look marvelous!"

She smiled, happy to hear a friendly voice for the first time that morning, "Thank you, Lord Iroh!"

"Stop smiling! That makeup's got to last through breakfast!" Lady Ai snapped. "And curtsy to the Fire Lord!" She then cast a furtive glare to said Lord. "You are being a bad influence on the girl, my Lord. How can she know how to address you in public if you never make her do so in private?"

"That can be fixed easily enough," the Fire Lord chuckled, and gave Katara a conspiring look. "My girl, just treat me the way you did when you first met me. Be polite and impersonal to the point of indecency, and, as in the time when you were still… apprehensive… in my presence, don't speak. However, let us be clear that this is not a permanent requirement. I should be quite disappointed in you if you do not immediately revert back to your natural ways as soon as all of this is over with."

Katara laughed (earning another scornful look from Lady Ai), "I think I can do that," then, for good measure, she dropped her cheerful demeanor, dipped in the slightest curtsy and tacked on an exaggerated, "my Lord." (The Lady made a point to adjust the angle of her neck and the depth of her dip, as well as the placement of her hands, where were supposed to flare out slightly to the sides.)

"Splendid," Lady Ai grumbled, addressing Lord Iroh. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, you came here because it is nearly time for everything to begin."

"Indeed," Iroh replied. "Now, if the young lady will take my arm, I shall escort you to the disembarking ramp, the public, and your future husband."

Katara did take his arm, though it took most of her will power, and remained silent as he led her out of her room. The weight of the robes and the tightness of her shoes forced her gait to be slow and lumbering. Luckily the Fire Lord let her use him as somewhat of a crutch, which helped her redeem, if only slightly, a minimal sort of grace. Iroh sensed her discomfort and patted her hand, casting her one last friendly smile before they reached the dusky, pre-dawn morning light on deck. There was no turning back now. Each painfully slow step seemed like a stab in her heart, she couldn't breathe, she…

And there were the stairs, carpeted in red, just like she dreamt.

Oh this was so not happening.

She hesitated, but the Fire Lord, now solemn-faced and thoroughly unlike the man she'd gotten to know, forcefully (yet gently) guided her down the steps (twenty-one of them, she counted). The crowd watching them was enormous, it took all of her focus not to crack under their scrutiny. The prince and the palanquin waited just beyond the last step. If only the Fire Lord's grip weren't so strong she could make a break for it, diving into the ocean below.

Before she new it, they'd reached the last step and was thoroughly surprised, not to mention relieved, to find she'd made it down all of them in once piece. She resisted, until this moment, looking at the man who was most undoubtedly her fiancé: Fire Prince Zuko.

He stood, grim faced as though he too were bracing himself for their meeting. With his legs akimbo, arms clasped tightly behind his back, his posture unrivaled, he struck an extremely intimidating figure. His formal attire added to the severity of his look; a long flowing red robe held closed at his right shoulder with a gold flame pin. Somehow, it was much more masculine and boxy looking than Katara's, without so many layers, as he had the privilege of having his outer robe closed. His mouth wasn't in a frown, exactly, but there was no trace of a smile either. His hair was pulled and slicked back into a topknot, held in place with a sort of crown, also in the traditional flame insignia shape. His eyes, she noticed, avoided hers, and instead seemed fixed on his uncle to her left. And she couldn't avoid it any longer, looking at his scar.

The scar made him frightening, though she tried not to show it. It was painful to look at, just a glance sent a wave of sympathy pain tingling through her nerves, down her spine and in her fingers and toes. But, she was determined to, at least, let this one part of her intended not reflect on her over all opinion of him. She'd been coached enough to know that it was a sore subject to the young man. Besides, she wasn't the kind of girl to let appearances outweigh what a person was on the inside.

Still, she couldn't help being terrified of him, at least for the time being.

Lord Iroh let go of her arm and moved forward to stand before his nephew. Katara remained rooted in place, unwilling and unable to move forward without coaxing. Luckily, no one seemed to have a problem with this.

Prince Zuko dropped to his knee, head bent down.

The Fire Lord then, in his loudest voice, addressed his nephew, and through him, his people. "Prince Zuko, from my travels I have brought with me the fire-diamond of the Southern Water Tribe: the beautiful Princess Katara! Come, and look upon your intended, the companion of your future-life, the future Fire Lady!"

The crowd, where before there was a dull hum of conversation, fell completely silent in anticipation. The Prince rose to his feet.

The next thing Katara knew, he was standing in front of her. Her eyes widened in fear and surprise; afraid, now more than ever, that she would mess up and embarrass herself. He held her eyes for a moment; it felt similar to the critical looks of Lady Ai, though there was something almost defensive about it. Then, suddenly, he bowed, bending deep at the waist, arm tucking across his chest, and just as quickly, he swung back up again.

Katara felt the impulse of nervous laughter flutter in her stomach while she wondered how many times he'd gotten whiplash from his recklessly fast bowing, but she managed, thankfully, to quell it, save for a slight twitch of her lips.

Then he stared at her expectantly.

Oh. She was supposed to do something.

Oh no.

Her mind was absolutely blank.

The prince discretely sighed in exasperation; Katara wouldn't have noticed were it not for the fact that he stood directly in front of her, inches from her, fist still clutched ridiculously by his opposite shoulder. His eyes shifted down and back to hers again, there was the slightest incline of his head, once again, down.

Down?

Down… It was on the tip of her mind now, what she should do…

And just like that, her eyes flashed in realization. She was supposed to curtsy! She felt like kicking herself, it was so obvious now!

Frustrated, Katara was determined to do the best curtsy these Fire Nation folks had ever seen, using the most careful and calculated movements she could muster. She let her knees bend ever so slightly, sinking no more than an inch or two in height, and let her head dip down, only enough to make a delicate curve with her neck, before slowly, ever so slowly (if only to counterbalance the prince's speedy movements), resumed standing. She hoped it was right, she'd tried to imitate exactly what Lady Ai had forcefully instructed moments before.

Looking at his face again, she could see in his eyes that he was silently laughing at her.

What a wonderful start to their relationship. He thought she was an idiot. Fabulous.

But at least the crowd ate it up. Noisy cheers and applause swallowed their previous silence. To seal the deal, Lord Iroh came to their side and joined their hands together (the Fire Prince's was uncomfortably warm). Then, he prophetically turned to his people and declared: "Behold! The glorious future of the Fire Nation!" Behind him, peaking from over the ship, the morning sun made its entrance. It was beautiful timing.

The crowds roared even louder, mimicking the sound of a powerful waterfall. Torches lining the wide walkway were lit in a wave of fire from the uniformed soldiers flanked on either side as the golden rays of the sun flooded the area, glittering against everything metallic.

Prince Zuko did an about-face and held out his arm, looking over his shoulder expectantly at Katara. She took the hint and looped her arm through his, allowing him to guide her off the elevated platform they stood on (and unwillingly using him as a human crutch, much like she'd done with Lord Iroh), down the five steps to the palanquin that waited to take them up to the palace. Two shirtless attendants held back a gauzy curtain, allowing them entrance, while two more stood ready heft the vessel on to their shoulders and begin the trek.

Prince Zuko let her in first, helping her in with his still startlingly warm hand.

It was then that Katara discovered the true extent of difficulty moving one experienced while wearing ten or so layers of clothing. Bending over was a challenge in and of it's self, and shifting to the other side to allow room for the prince was darn near impossible, involving an unsophisticated half-rolling maneuver. She was happy the crowds were kept at such a distance so they couldn't see her un-Fire Lady like fumblings behind the gauze. Zuko, however, got to see first hand.

Instead of looking amused, like he had during her faux pas with the curtsy, he looked almost depressed. She figured he was lamenting the fact that he had such an idiot for a fiancée.

"I'm not stupid," she told him defensively once the craft was lifted and began to slowly move forward.

Prince Zuko looked over at her and blinked. "Sure." Then he looked away.

"I'm mean it," she said, forcefully, her voice urgent, but quiet just in case. "I'm really not." She had a feeling their first conversation was not getting off to a great start.

He ignored her.

Katara crossed her arms (with some degree of difficulty) and huffed. "I'd like to see you come across half so well in the Southern Water Tribe. It's not like I had a long time to prepare for this you know. I've never even been here before today, whereas you've had a whole lifetime."

The Prince snorted, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "So you're the fire-diamond my uncle picked up?"

Katara sputtered. He couldn't, just couldn't, be that much of a jerk.

He sighed stared straight ahead. "At least after the ceremony is over, we won't have to see much of each other until the wedding."

…Or maybe he could… "Excuse me?" Katara must have heard that wrong, or he was joking. He couldn't seriously suggest that they just get married knowing nothing about each other, could he?

"We won't have to spend much time together," he shrugged as if it were obvious. "Our union is purely diplomatic. You don't have to like me, and I don't have to like you. Obviously we'll still have to spend some time together, but on the whole, I imagine we will have very little to do with each other."

"You're serious?"

"Yes," he nodded, his voice inflected in a way that suggested he thought that was what she wanted to hear, earnest almost. If he hadn't been talking about avoiding each other for the rest of their lives, it would have been sweet.

Katara had heard enough. "What is wrong with you?" she barked, causing the prince to flinch. "You seriously don't want to get to know me at all? Are you kidding me? You're seriously willing to marry someone without even making the slightest effort to even see if you even like her? You've got to be kidding me!" She wanted to cry, but Lady Ai would really kill her then. Her makeup was supposed to last through breakfast, after all. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm down, reminding herself of her ace in the hole, her one last resort if things were really as bleak as they seemed. She wondered if Zuko knew about it. She tried to figure out by the look of him whether or not he did, only to, obviously, come up unsuccessfully. "Your uncle did tell you that I could back out of the engagement if I really wasn't happy with things right? I mean, you know that this… our…" she struggled to say it, it felt like such a dirty word… "marriage… isn't a sure thing?"

Judging from his reaction, he was not aware. He turned towards her sharply, a speed rivaling that of his bows, mouth agape and good eye wide, "What?"

Katara felt a little smug now, a little warm inside, relishing her security blanket. It was a nice feeling, especially considering she looked like an over-frosted cupcake. "Yup," she smiled. "But don't worry, I'll give you a fighting chance once we get to know each other."

The prince snorted and looked the other way, crossing his arms obstinately across his chest. "I suppose you'll be gone within the week then."

Katara was about to call him out on his negativity, but her growling stomach interrupted her. So, instead, she glared straight ahead, resolving to put him in his place later, after she had some food in her stomach, less makeup on her face, and more comfortable clothes on. Yes, she would feel much more in her element then, better able to take on the moody prince who was her fiancé.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw he was scowling. On him, it was a wholly unpleasant, mean look, as if he had practiced it for years. While she hadn't known much of what to expect, she had a hard time believing that this man was related to Lord Iroh. The two seemed so completely different, yet the older man held his nephew in such esteem. It seemed either that the Fire Lord was completely blinded by nepotism, or there was more to the unsavory young man than she could see. She dearly hoped it was the latter, but only time would tell.

And they had a lot of time.

If things played out right, the way Lord Iroh hoped, they'd have the rest of their lives.

But, for the moment, Katara's dreams of a fairy tale romance were officially dead; incinerated to ashes by her very own prince.

* * *

**AN: **Sorry this chapter was shorter than my norm, but this was where it wanted to end. There just didn't seem to be any good transition into the breakfast. I'm hoping to cover more ground in the next chapter, but we shall see.

Ehh, looks like I've added another OC... I imagine there will be more where that came from, but, of course, the canon characters will always remain center stage. I should be re-introducing more characters from the show at some point... yeah.

Hopefully Zuko and Katara's meeting met expectations. Zuko's a complicated kid and Katara is completely out of her element, so, obviously, they don't have very good first impressions. But, as Katara pointed out in her lamenting, they will have plenty of time to get to know each other.

At this point, as far as the next update goes, I can't see the future, but I will say this: I am going to work on Scroll Six over the next few days (the last remaining days of my winter vacation), and that the next term in school should, theoretically, be more manageable than my last. I'm getting more acclimated to the busy schedule, so... We'll see how that all works.

Thank you so much for reading!

-ER-

PS. Reviewing is awesome and always in style.


	7. A Most Urgent Letter

**AN: This chapter is dedicated to Gummiworld, who has stuck with me since the beginning with brilliant reviews that are a perfect mix of critique and encouragement. Thank you very much for everything!**

**BTW: I originally estimated an update before the end of January… as it is now March, we can assess that did not happen. Sorry everyone! Unforeseen ...stuff. I'm still really not accustomed to my busy schedule yet to work in much fanfiction time... but at least I'm not as stress out anymore!  
**

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything.

* * *

**Pragmatic**

_An A:TLA Fic brought to you by:_

_Electric Risk _

* * *

**Arc II**: Six

**Scroll Five:** A Most Urgent Letter

* * *

The palanquin stopped and Katara was, once again, forced to roll out of the craft. Zuko helped her to her feet. Though he tried to appear stoic in the public eye, she could see some lingering resentment in the way he looked at her. Was he so set against getting to know her? Was he so sure that she wouldn't like him?

Well, he certainly wasn't making much of an effort.

Once upright, the normally friendly girl couldn't bring herself to smile in thanks. She supposed that was a good thing, seeing as this was supposed to be a somber event. Which, now that she thought about it, seemed rather odd and backwards. Marriage was celebrated at her home. Of course, there weren't many _arranged _marriages, and though there were a great deal of rigidly adhered to rituals, they were a drop in the ocean compared to this. But then, Katara surmised, it was sort of like comparing apples to oranges… if the apples were at peek ripeness and the oranges were rotten on the inside.

They were let out in front of a grand, sprawling staircase in a high arched hallway. Sunlight flooded into the area, reflecting brilliantly off the cream-colored marble floors, walls, and columns. The Fire Nation emblem hung in even increments down the hall on large red and black tapestries; without them, Katara might have managed to forget where she was. The doors they'd entered through closed shortly after the young waterbender had exited the craft. They were beautifully carved enormous double doors, twenty-five feet tall and eight feet wide on each side. They made a thunderously loud sound as they came together in the center and were latched shut. It was as if one thing after another sealed behind her to hold her captive. She had to keep reminding herself that she embarked on this engagement of her own free will and was given ample opportunity to back out.

There was no one to blame but herself.

Prince Zuko offered her his arm. Katara took it, wishing to be anywhere else; even the frigid bath Lady Ai put her through seemed more pleasant. She was hungry and tired. Blisters had already formed on her feet and burned angrily with each step, forcing her to rely more and more on Prince Zuko's arm. The hardest part was keeping the grimace off her face, both from the pain and the helplessness.

The Fire Prince noticed, as he ought to have with all the weight she put on him. The slight limp in her step was another giveaway. Though they were back under the scrutiny of the public eye, he whispered, "Having some trouble, are we?"

Katara was in no mood to deal with the Prince's derogatory tone. "If you can't trouble yourself to say something nice, I'd rather you just be silent."

His shoulders sank for a moment. "So be it."

The girl could not believe her luck. How could this person be her fiancé? How could he be related to the kind, old Lord Iroh? '_Who honestly says '_So be it_', anyway?'_ A glance to her left provided her answer. '_Conceited jerks, that's who_.'

The at-odds couple walked at the head of a long procession. Behind them was the Fire Lord, and behind him was an army of attendants who seemed to have shown up from nowhere, spilling out of the shadows. No conversation took place here beyond those few whispered words between Prince Zuko and his fiancée. Lord Iroh, who walked some paces behind them and could not hear the exchange, took note of their closeness and regarded it as a wonderful sign.

After what seemed an indecently long while to the tired, achy Katara, they came upon the end of the hall at another set of gargantuan doors. These, however, were opened, reveling huge chamber and a table already mostly filled up with guests.

"Nobles," Zuko whispered under his breath.

Katara looked at him from the corner of her eye. He stared ahead as though he'd said nothing. She did feel his posture straighten as they neared the room and had a feeling that he somehow anticipated her confusion as to the identities of the countless guests that awaited them. It was a nice reprieve from his other behavior, but not nearly enough to win her over. She said nothing in return, in part because she was still not pleased with him, or her situation, and in part because they were about to enter the dining hall.

There were three tables total; a long one around which the guests stood, a second table, perhaps a quarter of the other's size, sat perpendicular to it on an elevated tier, the third table was smaller still, big enough to sit two people comfortably, but no more than that. It sat on the highest tier. Prince Zuko led Katara to the middle table, and Lord Iroh took the highest. They did not sit, much to Katara's annoyance, but stood facing the crowd. At least, she consoled herself, she could use the back of the chair to support herself rather than the Prince's arm.

The Fire Lord addressed the crowd. Katara figured it was because these people hadn't been present for the ceremony at sunrise, a sacrifice made so they would be able to dine in the company of the Royal Family. It was similar to what was done earlier, except, due to the tables, there was a lot less touching and bowing. A huge improvement, in her opinion.

"My noblemen, loyal friends of the Crown," Lord Iroh began in a regal baritone, "I present to you my nephew, the Crowned Prince and his bride to be, the Water Tribe Princess!" The crowd, in a much more subdued manner than the people from before, clapped and cheered in a controlled, polite manner. One girl, Katara noticed, didn't even trouble herself to look happy, but maintained a morose state, clapping only as a formality. It didn't bother her much, as she was sure there were plenty of people who were not too thrilled at the prospect of a waterbender as Fire Lady, and one girl, who couldn't be much older than her, was nothing to be concerned about.

The Fire Lord sat down. Two attendants suddenly appeared and pulled the chairs out for Prince Zuko and Katara. Once they were seated, the guests took theirs. The slew of attendants that trailed behind them on the walk to the dining hall sprang into action. They produced pitchers and goblets, plates and utensils in glittering gold and placed them all before the patrons. Shortly thereafter, the first course was produced; steamed spice bread and seasoned rice.

Katara's mouth salivated at the sight of the food, but she contained herself. There was no need to spread rumors that she was a heathen or something. She took her cue to start eating from the Prince who, very slowly, picked up his chopsticks and took a small, clean bite. Katara had never seen anyone eat like that before, or perhaps she'd just never paid attention. Regardless, it was so orderly and regal. She doubted he ever made a mess in his whole life.

Still, she would worry about his obsessively graceful eating later, when she wasn't about to keel over from emaciation. The first bite to her lips brought water to her eyes; it was so hot! Rice was supposed to be bland! Though she was in distress, she made sure to control her movements as she grabbed her goblet. She carefully tipped the blessedly cool liquid into her mouth. Sweet relief! The welling in her eyes went down and she chanced a small bite of the steamed bread, which, while spiced, was far more bearable.

Katara glanced over the table of guests to find more than one set of eyes glued to her. It sparked a crawling feeling in her stomach and she could find the will to take another bite. She resolved to try and ignore everyone, but couldn't help feeling like an animal on display.

Moments later, more attendants appeared to remove the dishes of the first course and produce the second. This dish was steamed vegetables in a thin, dark sauce. It had a sour flavor, but wasn't unpleasant. Katara managed, despite her discomfort, to eat a few bites. She cursed her luck, to feel so queasy when she was so hungry. A look to the side made her envious. Prince Zuko, not a care in the world, had no problems eating in his delicate way.

More courses came to pass and it seemed like eons to Katara. She nearly cried out in joy when Lord Iroh pronounced the meal at an end. The Fire Lord rose from his seat, and the usual order of things followed with Zuko and Katara getting to their feet, and last, the guests. Then, the Lord bid everyone a good morning, prompting Zuko to do a stiff, shallow version of his other bows, his arms out rigid, his left fist on his right palm. Katara followed suit, with a dip of her head, and then followed behind the Prince has he followed the Fire Lord out a door in the back of the room, different from the one they'd entered through.

Out of the public eye in what appeared to be a smaller, private dinning room, Katara saw the stern look melt off Lord Iroh's face. It was such a relief. She immediately smiled as the older man placed a comforting hand on her back. "You did quite well my dear," he said, "I must say, that was a nice touch, adding suspense like that before you curtsied." He chuckled. "Some people probably thought you were considering a refusal."

The young waterbender laughed nervously. Yes, suspense, that's _exactly_ what she was going for.

"You find my people have an inclination for dramatics," he added with a wink.

Prince Zuko rolled his eyes. "Uncle, can I please have a word with you?"

"Not now nephew." Lord Iroh grinned, "Show Miss Katara to her room first; I am sure she is very tired and eager for some time alone."

"Sir," Katara began timidly. "I was wondering if it would be okay if I walked barefoot? These shoes are kind of tight, it's hard to walk in them."

The Lord chuckled again, "But of course! Make yourself at home! I'm sure no one here would raise an objection against your comfort."

Katara cried with delight and wasted no time prying the offending articles off of her poor feet.

"Come on Princess," Prince Zuko muttered begrudgingly, "I'll show you to your room now."

The best part about going barefoot was that she did not have to use her stupid fiancé as a crutch anymore. She was so glad she felt like skipping all the way to her room. She didn't though, the Prince thought she was strange enough as it was. …Not that she cared much for his opinion. It seemed to Katara that he needed her more than she needed him. After all, she already earned the support of the Fire Nation for her home and the Fire Nation still had a lot of image boosting to do –which would prove marginally more difficult without her.

Lord Iroh nodded after them. "Until later, my dear."

Once more, Katara found herself alone with the Prince. Out of view of the Fire Lord, his pace picked up. Holding her torturous shoes in one hand, and lifting up some of the bulk of her robes in the other, Katara managed, only barely, to keep up with him. Her damaged feet, though infinitely more comfortable, ached with each hasty _slap_ they made on the cold marble floors. "Do you think you could maybe slow down a little?"

The Prince didn't break pace or even look at her. "No."

Katara was not a violently inclined person (except when it came to some of Sokka's ill-thought comments), however she had a very hard time denying the urge to tackle the prince to the ground and sock him in the face. Repeatedly. She opted instead for calling him out, for once, not bothering to contain the volume of her voice, "What is your problem!"

The Prince reeled, speeding up his pace for a few more steps as if trying to outrun her, before sharply turning heel to face her. He had that horrible scowl pasted on his face again; his anger was frightening. Katara did know how to take care of herself, but her body was stressed enough at this point and she wasn't aware of any readily available water sources with which to protect herself. Fire didn't have those kinds of restrictions. "You," he spat. "You are my problem. Do you have any idea how difficult you are making things for me? Do you have any idea the trouble you are causing me?"

Katara was stunned nearly speechless. "The trouble I'm causing you? The difficulties I'm causing you?" She parroted quietly, unable to wrap her mind around it… "You jerk! I can't even believe you! I… you don't even… Do you know what I've been through to get here? You selfish, conceited jerk! You think you're the only one with problems in this world?"

Prince Zuko's scowl deepened. His arm reached out behind him to latch on to a handle, he twisted the knob and pushed it open violently so that it slammed against the wall. "Your room my lady," he growled. He gave another curt traditional bow and stormed past her down the hall.

Katara stood for a moment to collect herself, then calmly entered her room and looked around. She saw a large, lavish canopy bed draped in shear red fabric, an armoire and vanity set similar to the one she had on the ship, an open archway to a lavish bathroom, and another arch covered by deep red curtains. First she walked into the bathroom and scrubbed the makeup off her face and pulled each and every pin from her hair (there were thirty-seven in all, they each pulled painfully at her scalp as she worked them out of the intricate twists). Then she pulled open the armoire and found, not her clothing, but red and gold Fire Nation garbs. She sighed, but pulled out an outfit nonetheless, conceding that, even though it would be foreign to her, anything would be more comfortable than her current dress. She disrobed (a long and arduous process) and pulled on the new clothes. The top was more of a wrap and a bit tricky to get on, but after a few moments of struggle she eventually figured out how it worked. Luckily the bottoms were a simpler fair; comfortable, loose-fitting pants. Then, she carefully hung up her ceremonial robes, sure she was doing something wrong with it, but, as she had no helpers around to tell her so, she couldn't bring herself to care.

Finally, she collapsed onto the bed, her face buried in a pillow, and started to sob.

- = -

Prince Zuko decided he was much too angry to speak with his uncle, and instead went to his own chambers. There, he would meditate. He hadn't done so in a while and it would be a good way for him to sort things out. He stomped further on down the hall, hoping to physically channel is aggression without being too destructive. He slammed the door shut behind him.

The Prince's bedroom was sparsely decorated for such a large space. He had a low desk and few non-utilitarian pieces, opting for a more streamline feel. He did have a couple portraits; one of his uncle and his mother. More were hidden away in the trunk at the end of his bed. As a rule he kept his room spotless, impersonal. Most everything present served a purpose and he did not tolerate clutter.

…Which made the scroll on his desk stand out.

The surprise of the discovery put a hiatus on his anger. The edges were lined in red, indicating extreme urgency. He sat down heavily on the crimson floor pillow situated before the desk, peeled away the wax emblem, and gingerly unraveled it. It was from his uncle, the date and time at the top indicated he had sent it off while still at sea, two days ago.

_Dear Nephew,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. We are currently on our second day at sea, though I suppose when this reaches you we will be somewhat farther. The weather is fair, good for traveling, and as I informed you in my last letter, the people of the Southern Water Tribe remained as obliging and accommodating as ever. I did succeed in acquiring you a fiancée, and what a lovely, vivacious girl she is!_

_It occurs to me I should have written you sooner, perchance this doesn't reach you in time, but I simply over looked it in wake of some distressing developments. There are a few things I feel you must be aware of prior to meeting Princess Katara (for example, that she feels uncomfortable being addressed as "Princess Katara"). There was a great deal of unrest caused by my presence in the Water Tribe. As you know, The Northern Water Tribe still harbors a great deal of animosity towards us, and now, alas, it seems they have decided to carry that animosity over to their sister tribe. The night that I first formally met Chief Hakoda, the Northern Water Tribe followed through with an act of war; an attempt on the Chief's life. _

_Chief Hakoda is a fair and just man, a good and beloved father to his children. As his wife passed away some years ago, unfortunately due to a Fire Nation raid, he is their only remaining family aside from one elderly grandmother. The event hurt Miss Katara quite deeply as she feared for a time that he had, in fact lost his life (which, thank Agni, was not the case). _

_Because of these dire circumstances and the emotional trauma of the event, I permitted a loophole to further entice the young waterbender into agreeing to this engagement. Which is to say, I told her if she was truly unhappy at any given time before the wedding, she would be able to back out of it with no repercussions. I also promised her a long engagement in order to ensure the two of you get properly acquainted. I know this was not at all what you expected, but given the circumstances, I had no choice in the matter. Besides, she is, as I said, a lovely girl. I have no doubt that you will grow to like, or even love her. _

_Please do not fret about this Prince Zuko! Your charm and sympathetic ways are sure to win her over! _

_Best regards and warmest wishes,_

_Uncle_

Zuko read over the letter once more to be sure he hadn't missed anything. Regret gathered heavily in the pit of his stomach. He let his head fall to his desk, his breath clouded the shiny finish of the surface in spurts. '_I am a screw up_.' He knew what it was to lose a parent, or rather, nearly lose a parent. The pain and the gut-wrenching agony... He'd gone and trivialized the attempt on her father's life (albeit unknowingly, but what did that change?).

What's worse, she was the Fire Nation's last hope, especially as precarious as things were with the North. He needed a Water Tribe bride. No one else would do, simply because the Water Tribe had suffered the most damage at their hands. And, as Uncle enjoyed pointing out, it was a lovely bit of symbolism too.

The prince pulled himself to his feet, the scroll held loosely in his hand.

There was a knock on his door, a specific knock; a rapping of manicured fingernails followed by the clear sound of knuckles on wood. He turned around sharply as the handle twisted and the door pushed open.

He sighed. "Mai."

The pale young woman glared at him. "Such a warm welcoming, Zuko. What did I do to earn this honor?" She asked, shutting the door softly behind her.

"I'm sorry," Zuko replied, closing the distance between them. He placed his free hand on her cheek and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'm just a little preoccupied."

"Yes, yes," Mai smiled slightly. "We've all know about your little foreign hussy."

"Mai, we've talked about this." Zuko said warily, rubbing his temple. "Like it or not, we're all going to have to try and at the very least be civil to one another."

"Right, right," she waved it off and sat down on the prince's bed, fingers ghosting absently over the embroidered patters on the blanket. "As long as she doesn't interfere with us, I'll be good. Promise."

"Yeah…" He rubbed his neck and pointedly studied a bare patch of wall, mentally cringing. His girlfriend was intelligent and she knew when he lied or hid something… of course, that wasn't saying much. He was a notoriously bad liar.

Mai's eyes narrowed. "She isn't going to interfere with us, is she?"

"Uh…"

"_Zu_-ko!" Her temper flared, she slammed her fists down on the bed. "You said, y_ou promised_ me, that no matter what, we'd be together." She stalked towards him, to glare up close. "You promised me that since you couldn't make me your wife, you would still keep me in your life. What happened to that whole speech about remaining loyal to me above all else? Or was that all really just talk?"

The prince wilted, having been yelled at by too many girls (both of them justified). All he needed now was for his sister to appear out of a burst of flames to ice the cake. He ran a hand down his face. "Things have become more complicated." He sighed and held out the scroll. "Read it."

Mai stood and crossed her arms, sizing up the situation. Finally though, she yanked the scroll from his hand and turned away to read it. Her eyes scanned the document quickly. She turned back and let the offending paper fall to the floor. "Who are we kidding, Zuko? This thing between us will never work. Not if you want to achieve posterity. Besides, the concept of being your little whore looks less and less appealing everyday. I am the daughter of the mayor of a major province, only steps below royalty myself! I shouldn't reduce myself to the level of some street rat slut!"

Zuko's good eye widened. "Mai! There is a huge difference between being a whore and being a mistress!"

The young woman rolled her eyes. "Please Zuko, enlighten me. Tell me the difference between a woman sleeping with a married man, and a woman sleeping with a married man?"

"The difference is," he said, grasping her wrist and pulling her close, "that you are no ordinary woman and I am no ordinary man."

She shook her head and pulled away. "I'm sorry Zuko, but if you want this to work, you're going to have to come up with a stronger argument than that."

"But Mai," he cried as she made to leave the room. "I love you, you can't just give up on us!"

"Sometimes love just isn't enough." Her usually stoic eyes filled quickly with tears. "I read that letter, Zuko. That girl's been through a lot and I highly doubt she'll be satisfied playing second fiddle to me in your loveless marriage. If you're going to make it work with her, there won't be any room for me."

"So you're just giving up! I thought you were better than that!"

She slapped him. "Zuko, I've known from the start that idealistic vision you had of us being together forever was nothing but a dream! The reality is, we can't always get what we want! I played along because I wanted to believe it could be true, and I stubbornly thought that maybe, maybe if the girl was some stuck up little princess looking for a comfortable set up, maybe we could make it work. But she's not. She's some waterbender from a war-torn country whose father just had an attempt on his life. Honestly, I couldn't do this to her and I'm surprised if you think you could."

Zuko growled in frustration, steam shooting from his nostrils. "Look at me Mai, just take a look! I am the veritable embodiment of everything that girl was brought up to hate. I am the son of Ozai the Disgraced, I bare a mark of shame for my ancestry _on my face_! Half the time I don't even think _you_ like me! What makes you think that little girl is going to stick around any longer than she has to? She's already gotten from us everything she needs. The clause is right there in plain print; she can leave if we don't work. She's not going to stay, Mai. I just know it."

"Would you just listen to yourself?" Mai asked softly, her voice trembled with emotion. "When you are Fire Lord it will be your job to put your people and your country first. It will be your job to make sure we avoid war at all costs. This is your first test. You don't get a second chance with this Zuko, you don't have a choice. If that girl leaves, everything, and I mean everything that we've all worked so long and so hard for, will be for nothing."

The Fire Prince seethed. "Fine," he said in a clipped and regal tone, "if that's the way you feel about it, get out. Leave." When she hesitated he added, "That was an order. _Leave, now_."

Mai did leave, but paused a moment before she closed the door behind her. "Back to that, are we Zuko?"

Alone once more, Zuko picked up the scroll and setting it aflame in the palm of his hand. His mind was all but blank as he watched the edges curl to ash and let it fall in a smoldering pile on the stone floor. '_She has ruined everything_.' All notions of apologizing to the girl were gone.

* * *

**AN: A little bit of drama for you all... What will happen now? Hopefully since I'm going to be on Spring Break in two weeks, you won't have to wait that long to find out.**

**Till then, thanks for sticking with me!**

**Love,**

**-ER-  
**


	8. The Art of War

**AN:** Sooo... It's been two years. I did honestly think for a while that this fic was done... I swear I re-wrote this chapter at least five times before it came out anywhere near decent. You can all thank finals week for this update (two years later, and still in college... -.-;;); procrastination is the best motivator of fanfiction ever.

I will say that I have a bad habit of dropping old screen names and picking up new ones, you know, to avoid the shame of abandoning fics. I actually started another Zutara fic under a different screen name... Which I think is pretty funny because I thought I was done with the fandom the second I left this profile in the dust... However, my love of Zutara has been somewhat rekindled as a result (another helpful factor was -surprisingly- the rampant bad!fics in the fandom... go figure?).

For those of you curious about my double-life, I'll post a link to my other sn on my profile to avoid cluttering up this Author's Note anymore.

**One last thing: **For those of you who have stuck with this and reviewed,_ thank you_! Your support means the world to me and prompted me to keep trying my hand with this fic over and over and over and over... again.

* * *

Pragmatic

_An A:TLA Fic brought to you by:_

_Electric Risk _

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**Arc II**: Fire

**Scroll Seven:** The Art of War

* * *

The prince was acting like he swallowed a disgruntled poison-horned bat-shrew. More to the point, he acted like it was _Katara's_ fault. She had no clue what she did (aside from tentatively agreeing to consider marrying him, that is), what she could possibly be at fault for (if anything, she should be mad at him… which she was). The taciturn Zuko wasn't exactly a parrot-lizard on the subject either, and more often than not coldly rebuked her every time she tried to talk to him, if he acknowledged her at all.

She had no one to talk to aside from the busy Lord Iroh who only had time enough to offer tidbits of sage advice like "Your enemy never sees himself as the villain" or the even more diluted "The gem cannot be polished without friction". True, she had daily meetings with Lady Ai to learn about Fire Nation history, but that hardly counted as social interaction (nor was it particularly pleasant). Katara put up with it though, having discovered early on a sort of morbid curiosity for the subject (a subject which was surprisingly bland…). She missed Zin, her young friend from the ship something terrible, but upon inquiry she was brutally rebuffed.

"It's entirely improper," Lady Ai sniffed on Katara's third morning in the Fire Nation. They'd just covered the architecture movement at the end of the Third Dynasty in the time of Avatar Kyoshi, and the young water bender was desperate for something a little less… dry after the lesson. "That boy Zin is little more than a servant. You are a princess, not to mention betrothed. Imagine the rumors…"

"Weren't you the one who told me that what went on behind the palace walls was my own business?" Katara asked.

Lady Ai froze for a moment. "This is different. There's letting the reigns fall slack, and then there's maintaining –at least- the bare minimum of propriety. The only gentlemen you're permitted to associate with must either be blood relatives of you or Prince Zuko, or those approved by the Fire Lord; and even with that approval, he would have to be present for the interaction. That is how it is done. Besides," she sniffed, "Zin, as a commoner, would only be permitted into the palace grounds as a servant, and anything beyond the most basic interactions would prove a scandal. Servants are known to be horrible gossips when the moment suits."

Katara groaned (and was promptly rebuffed for the impertinence of the act). Lady Ai was determined to keep her separated from her only friend, and, evidently, had a wealth of excuses available at her fingertips. She was sure that if she pursued the topic any further, Lady Ai would have no trouble refuting her at every turn, a new rule at the ready to bare her from her desire. There would be no getting anywhere with her. Lord Iroh, she knew, would be much more reasonable on the matter, and much more empathetic with her plight – but run-ins with him for anything more than a brief 'hello' were proving to be just as rare as they were frustrating.

Katara had to amuse herself somehow. The intricacies of her fancy room and indulgent new wardrobe offered only minimal distraction, leaving her thoughts too free to wander back to the icy South where her father's health was still questionable and her sweet older brother was probably, at that moment, making an un-funny joke. She promised herself that the next time she got to see Sokka, she'd make a point to laugh at everything he said. It was with this promise that Katara shook herself from her reverie and realized she had a problem. She needed a hobby, something other than aimlessly wandering the palace corridors, morning lessons, and the even more painful afternoon teas Lady Ai insisted they take together. Zuko Baiting seemed like the appropriate choice. Granted, it probably wasn't the best way to get to know her princely intended, but it certainly made her feel better.

She had tried to be nice to him, if only for the kindly Fire Lord's benefit. Katara had put forth her best effort to bridge whatever fiery cesspit the prince insisted on placing between the two of them. A week into her stay with frustration and helplessness mounting, _of course_ her benevolent attempts would degenerate into little more than childish pranks. They were little things, hard to notice and hard to place blame. For example, who would know it was Katara's doing when the fire-brat's soup sloshed a little too violently, spilling its contents onto his lap? And who could guess it was her fault that the fountain he preferred to meditate by seemed prone to blockages in one of the pipes, often resulting in a sharp spray, typically in the prince's direction?

Katara scanned the areas the prince frequented, finding new and innovative ways to make his life more difficult. If the prince knew his current run of exceedingly bad luck was her doing, he either took no notice or deigned to give her the satisfaction of being upset. She was satisfied though; it was hard not for him not to get upset when suddenly doused head-to-toe in high-pressure cold water. If she knew anything about her intended, he was no saint and it was only a matter of time before he reached the end of his rope and came storming out in all his state to confront her.

He lasted five days, which far exceeded Katara's expectations. She was prepared though, and had taken to never going anywhere around the palace without her waterskin tied securely to her waist.

The water-bender darted around a corner, grinning as adrenaline pumped through her veins. An extremely damp and irate fire-bender was hot on her trail, literally as she could see the steam rising off his form. "I have had it with you, Water Wench!" The angry prince bellowed as his hand very nearly caught the back of Katara's shirt.

With a small 'eek' of surprise, she picked up her pace and opened the cap of her waterskin. Katara grinned as she heard the tell-tale cry and thump as the prince slipped and fell unceremoniously across the little ice slick she'd left for him. She spared a glance at his tangled form on the ground, letting out one gleeful laugh as she ran into something warm and solid.

It was a Fire Lord.

Iroh smiled good-naturedly at Katara. "Having fun, my dear?"

Her mouth gaped, too surprised to respond, though she had the decency to look abashed for having worked so diligently to enrage the goodly man's nephew.

That was when said nephew caught up to them, "Just wait til I get my hands on you, you fil- Uncle!" He skid to an abrupt stop, nearly colliding into Katara in the process.

The Fire Lord glanced between the two teens, eyebrows raised suggestively. Both were panting heavily, cheeks flush, eyes bright (and then there was the odd dampness permeating Zuko's robes if the rising steam meant anything). "I suppose I should just be thankful you two are finally getting along, although I would hope you'd reserve such activities for _after_ the wedding…"

If Katara happened to look, she would have found Zuko's expression priceless, but as it stood, she was too preoccupied with her own horror at Iroh's completely misguided conclusion. They both sputtered, but it was the prince who composed himself enough to say anything intelligible first.

"N-n-no!" he stuttered. "That's, that's not what, she got me, and I had to… that stupid water-peasant has been going out of her way to make my life miserable for the past week! I had to do something!" He paused for a beat, "But NOT the something you think!"

"I am not stupid and I am not a peasant!" Katara shrieked indignantly, forgetting her stately audience. "And if you'd only give me the time of day, I wouldn't have had to take such extreme measures to get your attention!"

"I- well, I-!" Zuko was at a loss for an appropriate argument, so instead settled for glaring disdainfully at her and crossing his arms.

Lord Iroh cleared his throat. "I see. Well, how fortuitous it is that we should all meet this way. As it happens, I was searching for you both, to inform you that the new sparring arena has been completed. It seems to me that now would be the perfect time to test it out, don't you agree?"

"I don't think-"

"Is it… does it have a water feature?" Katara cut the prince off, eyes glistening hopefully. The chance to have an all-out brawl (against Zuko) with her own element was tantalizing, almost too good to be true. Excitement nearly vibrated through her body.

Iroh nodded. "But of course! The arena was designed to suit your needs. The designs were sent as a gift from your Master Kuto, and I made sure they were followed to the letter."

"Then what are we waiting for! Let's go!" With a drastic shift in her demeanor, she pivoted to face the surly prince, who didn't look at all pleased with the development. "If you're man enough to face me, I'll meet you out there in thirty minutes."

The crowned prince of the Fire Nation was not happy. In fact, he was far from it. He did not want to have anything to do with that water-bending heathen who, for the last few days, had taken special care to make his life an absolute misery. And while Zuko wasn't necessarily opposed to showing her who was boss in a battle of skill, he felt it would do little to keep the distance he'd strived so hard to establish between them. He'd been about to refuse flat out, but the look on Iroh's face at that moment too closely resembled an Angry Ozai for him to do so; the words got stuck in his throat. Zuko had a hunch that his uncle wasn't at all pleased with his behavior and he wouldn't put it past the man, in his current temper at least, to question Zuko's rights to the throne.

So, there he was, waiting at one side of the arena. It took him no more than ten minutes to return to his chambers and throw on something suitable for sparring. He was too anxious to wait there and instead hastened out. If nothing else, it allowed Zuko to become familiar with the changes. The arena was now more of a platform surrounded by a mote. He'd noticed intricate tile-work at the base of the water, made to look like waves in a style similar to the sign of the Water Tribes. There were four bridges, one on each side, over the mote to the main arena, with a breadth of space around the perimeter for either spectators or a greater range for fighting, Zuko wasn't sure. It was nicely done, and he felt it wouldn't inhibit his own movements as majority of the space was still, well, solid, and flat.

Zuko wondered what he should expect from the girl, Katara. She'd trained with a Master, he knew that much, but during the war years, with such a shortage of viable benders around, who knew how legitimate that title actually was? For all he knew, he'd be facing rudimentary water whips and slow-moving, oblong orbs. Although, her pranks over the last few days indicated at least some level of technical skill, plus she was far too eager and, dare he say it, cocky, to be that bad –right? Or perhaps she was like a pygmy puppy-pig, all full of bark but with no real power to back it up? But no, with his luck, she was more like a saber-toothed moose lion, cute and cuddly, but absolutely deadly. (Not that she was cute. At all. In the least bit. Remotely. Etc.)

And suddenly, there she was, Iroh leading the way. Katara's hair was braided back and out of the way and she carried a determined look in her eyes, excited as well, he noted, the way her eyes kept flickering to the mote. She wore a minimalistic version of her typical outfit, a red sarong tied around her waist slit high up both sides, though her legs were wrapped to maintain some semblance of modesty. She was similarly bound… up top, beneath a red halter that left her stomach exposed. The bangles and other decorative things she favored for everyday wear were absent, all except for the pale blue choker at her neck.

"Ah, Prince Zuko!" Iroh cried jovially, though Zuko detected a hint of warning in his voice, "You've beaten us here!"

He shrugged in response, standing and rolling his neck. Behind Iroh, he saw Katara's eyes narrow. She cracked her knuckles.

"Well," Iroh began, "no need to dally, I suppose. Go ahead you two, into the center of the platform." They went as he directed. "Good, now bow to one another to show proper respect to your fellow warrior." Which they did, politely if someone begrudgingly.

"And without further ado," he bellowed, "Begin!"

And with little warning, Zuko found himself facing a title wave. He leapt into the air, somersaulting and propelling himself with flames at his feet. He landed behind her just as the wave subsides, though she was only caught off guard for a moment. She ducked his kick gracefully, taking a swipe at his own legs to knock him of his feet. It was successful, though Zuko was adept at catching his balance, and shot a flame which forced Katara to move from an offensive to a defensive stance.

The battle raged for quite a while, and the two soon found themselves at a standoff. They eyed each other warily, breathing heavily from the toils of their fight.

Katara's lip curled in a smirk. "What's 'a matter, Zuzu? Giving up?"

She didn't mean it, she couldn't have known, but regardless, her words irked Zuko in a way nothing else she'd done to him ever could. He saw red, he saw her taunting, self important smile, he saw_ her_; he saw Azula. Any semblance of self control he may have had was now gone.

He moved fast, faster than Katara anticipated, knowing how tired they both were. Her eyes widened and she only had time enough to throw her arms up to block her face before the blow came.

When it did, reality suddenly struck Zuko like a swift punch to the gut. The weight of what he did wracked through his body. He burned her. He burned her. Not Azula, but Katara. The water-tribe girl who was only here because of the war his ancestors started; the protection for her village. He could hear nothing beyond the pounding of his heart roaring in his ears. Unable to face the situation, the prince turned heel and ran into the depths of the palace.

Meanwhile, Katara was busy uttering every unsavory phrase she'd managed to pick up at the various sea ports she'd visited with her family, but never before had occasion to use. "Son of a hog-monkey!" she cried, rolling to her side.

Iroh swiftly knelt beside her. "My dear, we'll get you to the infirmary, we'll have someone take care of those burns right away!"

"Nuh," Katara pattered his hands away and pooled some water into an orb with her less burnt hand. It was difficult, finding the will to concentrate on the task with the searing pain, but soon, the burnt flesh on her forearms was transformed to a tender, but infinitely more comfortable, soft pink.

"Remarkable," the Fire Lord said, studying the girl's handiwork. "It never ceases to amaze me, the depths of the water bender's abilities."

Katara grinned weakly, still in shock from the pain and suddenness of the situation. "It definitely comes in handy."

"About Zuko…" he began hesitantly as he helped Katara sit up, "He's… a sensitive young man. I know for a fact he did not intend to hurt you-"

She looked at the older man incredulously. "Didn't intend to hurt me? We were in a sparring match, what else could he have tried to do?"

"You're… you're not mad about this, then?"

"Well, aiming for my face was a low blow, I think –figuratively of course," she replied sensibly, rising shakily to her feet. "But it was a sparring match; taking it easy on me would have been a huge insult." She blinked and looked around. "Where'd he go?"

Iroh sighed, "Chased away by some inner demons no doubt. You'd best go find him and show him you're alright, I imagine he's rather upset right now. That is, if you feel well enough."

Katara's brow creased as she looked back towards the palace where, somewhere inside, the surly prince was being eaten up by guilt. The whole situation was odd. Especially the way he reacted to her taunting. She hadn't even said anything particularly cruel, nor _clever_ and he just flew off the handle. She didn't know him to be so quick to lose his temper (she'd done plenty of testing in that area), and his reaction was baffling. Perhaps if she found him, he'd let her talk, if out of nothing but guilt. Against her better judgment, his guilt made her feel guilty… which she thought was downright unfair. Resigned, she looked back to the Fire Lord. "No, it's fine… any idea where I can find him?"

Zuko tossed another small piece of bread into the pond in the Palace gardens, a koi fish bobbed up and sucked the morsel into its mouth before disappearing into the murky depths below. He missed the turtle-ducks, but at this time of year they always went to the southernmost shores of the Fire Nation to escape the heat. He thought about his mother, what she would say if she knew of his behavior. He thought of Azula, how thrilled she'd be to know she could still get to him, even as she was, locked up and beyond incapacitated. He was weak, he was pitiful, he was-

"Zuko?"

Zuko jumped to his feet in surprise. There Katara was, a little tired, a little disheveled, hair in disarray as it tumbled from its braid, but otherwise, fine. What's more, she didn't look angry or hurt or upset. She looked concerned. That would not do. He put up a tough front. "What do you want?"

"You ran off," she shrugged. "You didn't even stick around to see if I was alright."

He turned around, determined not to look at her. "You seem fine enough to me."

Katara groaned. "Why do you always have to be like this? I understand this isn't exactly an ideal situation, believe me, this is one of the last places I ever thought I'd end up, let alone want to be. But even still, I was always willing to try. I wanted to, if nothing else, try to be your friend. La knows I don't have any here."

"I'm not friend material," he muttered, intent on pushing past her to get away.

She grabbed onto his arm, stopping him. It was then Zuko noticed the tender pink flesh of her arm. He grabbed it and pulled it in front of his face for closer inspection, not noticing or caring that the arm was actually connected to Katara. "H-how?"

Pulling her arm back defensively, she replied, "I can heal myself. It's a water-bending thing," she shrugged. "And anyway, I don't get why you're so worked up. We were sparring, it's not like you attacked me from behind without warning."

"Who says I was upset?" Zuko denied, though it sounded weak even to him.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Where would you like me to start? First there's the way you flipped out after I tried to taunt you, weakly I might add. After all the stunts I've pulled all week, it took you days before you finally did anything about it. Something I said must have struck a chord to make you react that way." She hesitated before continuing, studying the pond rather than the fire-bender. "You moved so fast, I couldn't even think straight, and you burned me. I could understand if that would be upsetting to you… I mean, I don't know what you've been through exactly, but I know you must have been young and it must have been horrible." She bashfully studied the ground, nervous about having brought up the taboo topic. "And anyway, you shouldn't beat yourself up about it because I'm fine."

"But what if you weren't?"

His voice was quiet and gravelly. Katara was barely even sure she heard correctly. "What?"

"I said," Zuko repeated, eyes blazing into hers defiantly. "What if you weren't? What if you couldn't have healed yourself; would you be so forgiving? Would you be so willing to stand here and try to –Agni- try to comfort _me_?"

She frowned, and studied the pink marring her arms, still tender to the touch. She tried to imagine the blistering burn there, permanent. Even healed as it was, there probably would always be a slight discoloration to her forearms. "Well… I suppose, once the pain subsided, I might be a little resentful at first. Still…" Katara looked him in the eye, "Still, we were sparring. It's my own fault that I didn't move quickly enough-"

"No, no!" Zuko growled, pushing past her again. "It's my fault; I'm the one who didn't have enough self-control –against you, of all people! Don't stand there and just act like its okay!"

"But Zuko, it _is_ okay!" Katara argued, rushing to block is departure. "Focusing on the what-if's is going to give you nothing but a headache."

He didn't say anything, but he didn't leave either. Katara saw this as a sign of progress.

She sat down in the same spot by the pond that Zuko had occupied earlier. "So…" she said, "why did you get so worked up earlier anyway? Was it what I said or something else?"

Zuko tensed, but his honor dictated that she deserved this, at least. He sat down stiffly beside her. "You called me… Zuzu."

She snorted and stifled a giggle. "So I did… what's the big deal?"

The fire prince swallowed thickly. "That's what my sister calls me. She and I don't… have the best relationship."

"You have a sister?" Katara demanded. "How come I've never met her?"

Zuko grimaced, "Because she's under a high security lockdown along with… my father."

"Oh right, _that_ sister." The heaviness of that statement settled over them. "You're going to think this is crazy, but sometimes I forget that you and your Uncle ever had anything to do with the War." She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "I mean, when I first met your Uncle and saw his ship docked at the village, I was absolutely terrified. Those ships never meant anything but pain and destruction. – But your Uncle is such a good hearted, genuinely nice person, I can't imagine it- and even you, I barely know you, and so far you haven't done much to earn my friendship, but even you seem separate from it all."

"You're right," Zuko replied after a moment. "You are crazy. And you're naïve if you can separate me from the war, any of this from the war. It's why you're here, anyway."

Katara curled her knees up to her chest and rest her head atop them. "I know." She picked at the grass by her feet. "I think maybe I do it to make myself feel better. Here I am, off living in a lavish palace while my family is living in conditions hardly better than a refugee camp. Here I am consorting with… with…" Her eyes weld with tears at this point, remembering the Yann from the North at his attack on her father. "…the enemy."

Zuko froze. If there was one thing he was worst at in the world, it was dealing with teary-eyed women. Especially when the topic was as serious as this. Seeing the normally vivacious girl reduced to this frail state reminded him of his Uncle's urgent letter, and the events the preceded her coming to the Fire Nation to be his wife. "For what it's worth," he said, "I'm sorry."

"No," she said, wiping hastily at her eyes. "It's not your fault. I mean, you don't even give me the time of day more often than not, and you basically told me you wanted as little to do with me as possible after knowing me for less than five minutes… but, you helped stop the war. You turned against your own father and helped stop the war. That's got to count for something, I think."

"You're giving me too much credit."

"Your Uncle seems to think you're alright," Katara shrugged. "He hinted that you might be a bit surly, but he's pretty convinced you're a good person. After he managed to overthrow your father, I'm inclined to think he knows what he's talking about."

"Uncle was… always more of a father to me than my own was," Zuko admitted. "But I didn't side with him… not at first."

Katara's eyes widened, "What?"

"I was banished, you know?" He continued, "My father banished me and told me that I had no honor, that I had disrespected him, our family, and our nation and that I was no longer fit to be the crowned prince. He sent me on an impossible task; to find and capture the Avatar. I was only thirteen at the time, and I became obsessed. Uncle came with me; I think he felt a little guilty because he was the one who let me in on the war meeting that started the whole fiasco. He warned me to keep my mouth shut though, but I hadn't listened. …Anyway, the point is, I was dead-set on getting back into my father's good graces."

"One day, we discovered a small fleet of Fire Nation ships tracking us," he rubbed his brow, feeling a headache coming. "Uncle said that it was time for me to make a decision; I could keep on jumping through hoops to please a man who would never truly accept me, or I could walk a new path. And then right after, Azula showed up and told me that father had changed his mind, and he wanted me home. Of course I wanted to go home, so I went with her without a second thought. I was lucky though, because I overheard a guard on the ship asking what they should do with the prisoner, it didn't take me long to figure out they were talking about me."

Katara gasped, "Oh La…"

"It served me right," Zuko replied. "I managed to fight my way out of their control, and dove into the water. It was a miracle that I managed to make it back to Uncle's ship, and that we managed to get away from the fleet. Somehow without my even realizing it, Uncle managed to sway the whole ship towards his cause. I'd been so blind to everything… But after that, we started amassing allies everywhere. I didn't even know that Uncle had been a part of this secret network called the Order of the White Lotus. They had spies everywhere, even a few of my father's advisors. You've met one of them, I think; Lady Ai."

"Lady Ai was part of the secret organization that over-threw your father?" Katara deadpanned.

Zuko nodded in the affirmative.

"What did she do? Incapacitate them with her monstrous nagging abilities? Force them into shoes three sizes too small? Bore them to death with the history of Fire Nation architecture?"

"She is a poisons expert," Zuko explained, cracking a wry grin. And then, a little hesitantly he added, "She became my father's favorite mistress… and this allowed her to give him a poison of her own creation which permanently blocked his chi in certain areas and made his bending incredibly weak. From what I understand, it had to build up in his system slowly over time so he wouldn't notice it, and so no one could trace it back to her. It also severely damaged his body and destroyed his health."

"That's incredible…" Katara commented, a little star-struck.

"Azula though, she was so paranoid that no one could get near her," Zuko remarked. "She saw Ozai growing weaker every day and suspected a conspiracy plot. She shunned her closest friends, dismissed all of her servants except for two of her advisors, and then she just kind of lost it… She started talking about assassinating Ozai and stealing the crown for herself. –Which of course didn't go over too well with him. She was imprisoned for conspiracy to commit treason before the war even ended, kept under the highest security measures possible."

"So, your father and sister are still around? They're still here?" Katara asked a little warily.

Zuko nodded. "They are kept in the prison just outside the Capital boarders, along with a few other war criminals. My father is too weak to be of any threat and my sister, she's still extremely dangerous, but her mind is so far gone that as long as she's locked up, she's not a threat to anyone."

Katara let the information wash over her, trying to imagine what it would be like to endure all of that; not being able to trust your own father, your own sibling. She shuddered. Chancing a glance at the prince, she decided he was entirely too surly, dwelling on those things. Katara decided to change the subject. "So… why did you go through so much trouble to avoid me anyway?"

Zuko sighed, curling his own knees up to his chest. "Do you want the long story, or will the short story do?"

Given what he'd already spilled, Katara settled for the short.

"I was… being immature," he admitted at last. He looked at her. "I was being stupid. I have a laundry list of character defects to work with, so my reasons are pretty much endless."

Katara gave him a friendly shove. "You're too hard on yourself. D'you ever think that maybe the reason your Uncle took the Crown was to give you a chance to relax a little? You've got to be the most uptight person I've ever met!"

Zuko gave her a look that was nothing short of confused. "I don't understand you. Why don't you hate me? I've given you plenty of reasons to hate me, I know I have. I mean, after all those pranks, I'd almost believe you did hate me except for the fact that you haven't demanded to go home yet."

"Well… you are pretty annoying," Katara conceded. "And uptight."

"Yes," Zuko grumbled. "I believe you already established that."

"But hates a pretty strong word," she continued. "And after everything Iroh's offered to do for my family and my village, it wouldn't be fair to him if I just turned tail and ran the first chance I got. Besides, he seems to think the world of you- there's got to be something to that… I thought maybe if I could convince you to actually spend more than five minutes a day in my presence, I could start to see what he sees." She paused for a moment. "So… does that whole 'you were being immature' thing mean that you don't hate _me_ anymore?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked sharply.

"Well, the last time you said more than five words to me, the first day I was here in fact, I can't remember your exact wording, but something about how much trouble I was causing you… you know, coming here to improve the Fire Nation's shoddy image."

"Oh… right…" He looked a little ashamed. "I hadn't known about what happened, you know, with your father and everything. I mean, I learned about that a little later, so I guess that doesn't really say much… but I was… just…" Zuko groaned. "Maybe I am too uptight."

"You know what they say," Katara grinned, "acceptance is the first step towards recover!"

With this, the Water Tribe Princes and the Fire Nation Prince entered a tentative understanding, and, for a brief time, there was peace in the palace.

* * *

**AN:** That sort of sounds like an ending... but it's totes-m'goats not. I swear. That's why I included words like "tentative" and "brief", because somethings about to hit a fan and it's not potpourri. (I'll give you a hint: It's pink.)

So. I am back. I don't know when I'll be able to update next, now that I guess I'm juggling two fics... -ehem-. I do know where this is all going now, for the most part (a few details are set, like the Big Inciting Incident and the Resolution, and even a couple of the bridge moments... so there are only a couple of hazy bits at this point). But I am actually graduating this June and will be thrust forth into a few months of sloth and idleness before the frantic search for a livelihood and the equally frantic filling out of grad school applications begins... so that should be somewhat promising. I'm also guaranteed at least a few more tests to procrastinate for. Help me keep the hope alive!

Thanks again for those of you who managed to not completely give up on me... and to the new readers (a girl can hope, right?), welcome!

As the French say;

Au revoir!

-ER-


	9. The Iguana Seal Conspiracy

**AN:** This chapter was sooo much fun to write. And hey, look! We've entered a shiny new Arc!

But just so you're all aware, I've gone all wonky with the time line in this chapter - nothing too major, just a little playing around with the structure. The chapter starts out with a letter, then goes into a flashback for the bulk of the time, and then ends all caught up, the day after the letter is written. -If that makes any sense.

Really, I just have the letter first because I thought it would be fun to mess with everyone.

Speaking of, you guys are awesome! Hearts and kisses to you all!

Oh, and a shout-out to **Kimberly T.** for the cartwheeling image from your review. It made a very brief appearance in this chapter because I couldn't get it out of my head...

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**-Pragmatic-**

_An A:TLA Fic brought to you by:_

_Electric Risk _

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**Arc III**: Combustion

**Scroll Eight:** The Iguana-Seal Conspiracy

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_Dear Sokka,_

_I am sorry I haven't written before, but I didn't want you to jump to crazy conclusions or think that you'd need to show up here with your boomerang ready and some ridiculous battle cry at your lips. But, anyway, I'll start at the beginning. _

_You probably already guessed this, but I was completely miserable when I first got here and it was especially hard not having you around for the first time in my life (thank you for the picture and the gift, by the way – it's nice to know that even though I won't get to see you on my birthday, I still get presents).. _

_They've also deemed it necessary for me to take Fire Nation history lessons from the driest, most domineering woman I've ever met in my life. Her name is Lady Ai, and did I mention she was awful? But I suppose, to be fair, she does have _some_ redeeming qualities… Though I really didn't like her at all when I first got here – she made me get into a ridiculous outfit for my first meeting with the prince – there was a whole ceremony and everything! I had maybe fifty pounds of fabric wrapped around me and about as much makeup caked on my face too. It was awful. _

_And like I said, Zuko certainly didn't make things any easier, but what can you expect from a royal jerk (Ha! Get it?). He seemed to think that our marriage (hypothetically speaking…) would be in title only and that we'd just go about our lives as though the other wasn't there, at least as often as we could get away with it. He wasn't too happy when I told him I could leave whenever I wanted and he refused to have anything to do with me for a whole week. Odd behavior for someone who -_should_- theoretically be sucking up to me, but I've come to learn that Zuko is anything but logical._

_I kept busy though. As the new potential future Fire Lady, I felt it was my duty to explore the grounds and familiarize myself with everything, including Prince Zuko's favorite places to relax ("relax" is a relative term of course; whereas to you and me it means kicking back and doing something fun and mindless- to Zuko it means sitting tensed up like a boulder, "meditating"). Stalking Zuko turned out to be a great way to practice my water-bending too! (Did I mention he preferred to meditate next to a fountain?) Needless to say, Zuko couldn't avoid me forever… He's got a bit of a temper, that one. _

_The other day things reached a boiling point (-Ha! I'm so on a roll, and who says you inherited all the sense of humor?), and it also happened to coincide with the completion of a new sparring arena, one made special for me with a really nice mote. We worked our differences out the old fashioned way. _

_Things actually got a little better after that. Despite having a disposition rivaling an angry polar-leopard, I think he just feels really guilty… It's a lot to explain and not my business to share, so I won't go into detail. And before you get all self-righteous and thinking that I've gone and fallen for him – think again. At the end of the day, Prince Zuko is as much a thick-headed idiot as you are sometimes. Especially where girls are concerned. He and I aren't speaking right now, but this time it's on my terms. _

_I am very upset with how some things have played out right now, but it would be far too hasty for me to just up and leave this second. And yet, I've come to learn that, for as proper and educated as that stupid boy purports himself to be, he's extremely talented at putting his foot in his mouth, and as this talent holds no visible limitations, I won't be surprised if I'm home within a month. _

_I hope things are going well on your end! I guess it's a little difficult to get post back and forth from where we are… Still, that doesn't mean you shouldn't write to me! I'm putting this letter on the next supply ship due to set out and I expect a reply when that ship returns! Or else! _

_Give my love to Dad and Gran-Gran!_

_Your sister,_

_Katara_

_PS. When are you guys going to visit? I miss you all so much I can't even think straight!_

_P.P.S. If you ever happen to encounter an Iguana-Seal, do me a favor and punch it in the face._

Katara put the pen down and sighed. There was so much more she wanted to say. She wished Suki was there; she so needed someone to rant to, to complain and rail against the stupid, idiotic Fire-brat to. It was getting ridiculous. The boy's idiocy knew no bounds. One would think a prince would know to behave more diplomatically, to be more aware that playing around with people, more specifically girls'_ hearts_, would rear up and bite him. And then scratch him too, for good measure.

Then again, from the sounds of it, Zuko wasn't very familiar with people actually caring for his opinion, or for his opinion to actually carry any weight at all. It's hard to mess with peoples' lives when they don't care a jot for yours.

That wasn't an excuse though. Not by a long shot.

* * *

It all started the day after the sparing incident. Zuko still had some secrets to his daily routine as Katara never could figure out where he disappeared to between breakfast and lunch. And then his days were usually full of studying and his uncomfortable looking meditation sessions when the sun was at its peak in the sky.

Winter in the Fire Nation, Katara was informed during one particularly excruciating history lesson, was its best and most temperate season for visitors (Fire Nation locals, for obvious reasons, still favored the summer), but this didn't prevent things from getting indecently hot around the noon hour. At that point in the day, Katara typically receded deep into the depths of the palace (before she and Zuko came to their understanding, this would be prefaced with a little sabotage outside). She hadn't quite managed to acclimate to the higher temperatures yet. She didn't relish the thought of spending summers in a place like this… Lady Ai generally chose this time to swoop in and accost Katara into lessons; she was much easier to corner inside the palace than out on the grounds.

Thus, it was late in the afternoon the day following the near-disastrous spar when Katara finally managed to corner the crowned prince of the Fire Nation into a bonding session. The sun hung low in the sky and a cool breeze blew down from the north, making their quaint set up in the grassy courtyard all the more pleasant. A small, low table and soft seat cushions provided they needed for a nice, long chat. However, Zuko's was a tough shell to crack and Katara soon realized that moment beside the pond was only a small nick in a very thick barrier (rivaled only by the thickness of Zuko's skull). They were not, as she had hoped, laughing like old friends over tea.

The tea was there (a nice, calming herbal one to ease nerves), but the conversation was a little stilted and Zuko looked supremely uncomfortable. Katara, true bleeding heart that she was, sat with brewing determination to somehow bypass the prince's spiky, brusque and rather rude outer husk and make friends with, at least what she hoped would be his gooey, good natured inner self.

"So," Katara said, drawing out the 'o' sound. The tea was still too hot to drink and she was running out of ways to distract herself from the awkwardly stoic prince. "Tea."

Zuko looked both as if he was surprised she was there and as though she'd just dribbled on her shirt. "Yes," he articulated slowly, lifting his own cup. "Tea." Then he brought the cup to his lips, and subtly tried to hide the fact that he'd just taken a sizable gulp of scalding liquid. Zuko stiffly returned the innocent tea cup to the table.

Katara took more pleasure that she probably should have in seeing his good eye start to water. Then she remembered she was supposed to try and become his friend. She sighed, "You know, you were a lot more talkative yesterday. If we have to rely on the guilt angle for this whole friendship thing to work, I'm not sure we're in for a very healthy relationship."

She slouched down on her elbows and leaned forward, all the while hearing Lady Ai's reprimanding trill in the back of her mind. It made Katara grin. "Then again, does this mean you don't feel responsible for the burn anymore?"

"What? No!" he cried. "Of course I still feel responsible! It was my fault!"

"You're impossible." She held up her forearms for him to see. "Look, they're fine!" And it was true; one nice long soak in the bath and you could only just see the wispy traces of tender pinkness, and even then they were mostly covered by her bangles. That last bit of discoloration would probably never disappear completely, but it was so minor it hardly mattered.

Zuko looked away. "You shouldn't come near me. I'm dangerous."

Katara quirked an eyebrow. "I'm absolutely shaking."

"I'm serious!" Zuko whipped his head back towards her, gripping the edge of the table. "How can you just sit there after yesterday? I told you about my father and sister! I'm related to them you know! How can you just sit there and assume that I'm so different?"

Katara sat back and appraised him. "I'll give you one thing; insanity sure does seem to run in your family."

Zuko growled in exasperation. "You just don't get it, do you? I've been doing a lot of thinking and the fact is that I'm dangerous! I can't control my temper and that means people are going to get hurt!"

"So what? You want to go lock yourself in a tower too? Like you're some kind of beast?" Katara snorted. "I think you're giving yourself a little too much credit, Zuko."

"What?" He balked, "You think I'm not as powerful as them?" He gestured off vaguely behind him, and Katara assumed he meant his crazy-pants father and sister.

"Are you saying you actually _want_ to be capable of what they did?"

"No! Of course not!"

Katara flayed her hands out, "There you go! See, you've got this little thing called a 'conscience', and that's what's preventing you from rampaging through the palace like… like… Well," she shrugged, "like your sister."

Having garnered only silence from the impassioned and supposedly 'dangerous' fire-bender, Katara experimentally tapped the side of her tea cup. Deeming it cooled enough, she took a sip. "Do you know what your problem is?" She postured thoughtfully, staring into the shallow depth of her cup.

"No," Zuko grumbled, crossing his arms, "but I'm sure you'll spell it out for me in excruciating detail."

"You've gone your whole life knowing that Ozai and Azula don't care about you, and you just go ahead and assume that no one else can either." She set the cup down and gauged the prince's expression before continuing. "I know I'd be angry and full of self-loathing if I thought no one cared a lick about me."

"I am _not_ some pathetic kicked koala-lamb!" Zuko cried indignantly. "I know plenty of people who have cared about me! There's my mother for one- she always cared! And Uncle and Mai-" He stopped speaking abruptly.

This of course piqued Katara's curiosity. "Mai? Who's she?"

"She was… um, my pet… iguana-seal."

Katara snorted; she couldn't shake the mental image of Zuko baby-talking a dead-eyed lizard. "Your pet loves you. That's sweet, adorable even. And where is the little guy?"

"Iguana-seals aren't little…They're big like komodo-rhinos." Zuko explained, and then he blushed and stammered on, "And um… Anyway… Mine's dead! That's right, my pet is dead!"

"Poor little Mai," Katara cooed. "You must have been very sad."

Zuko swallowed thickly, his face flushing as he concentrated hard on picking some lint from his knee. "Yes… so much so that I don't really like talking about… her."

Katara eyed him thoughtfully, not entirely convinced that his story was the whole truth. Perhaps the name was tied with some painful memory, like his mother or something. Come to think of it, she hadn't heard much about his mother before now… Nothing in fact. But she'd already poked and prodded him so much in this one little tea party that it hardly seemed fair to attack him from that front. And besides, it would probably scare him away and they were making such beautiful progress…

The beautiful progress was short lived. Its destroyer cartwheeled into Katara's life in a blaze of pink.

* * *

A day and a half later, when the sun was at its highest, Katara was engaged in an exercise of stealth. In the two weeks that had elapsed since her arrival in the Fire Nation, she'd finally learned to train her ears for the gentle and near silent swish of Lady Ai's silk robes. It was tricky evading her, especially now that Katara was aware of her status as ex-spy and assassin, but the challenge was thrilling in itself, and every second spent out of Lady Ai's clutches meant less eye-twitchingly dull history. Katara at least had the advantage of speed, as a proper lady would _never_ condescend to _run_. And today, the esteemed tutor had promised a detailed account of the second dynasty's grain exports.

Katara found it a real shame that a country whose history was so rich in blood-shed and treachery could be so unforgivably tedious.

Failure was not an option.

Katara rounded a humongous ebony pillar and entered the eastern wing of the palace. Under normal circumstances, she avoided this place as it was where the ceremony of her arrival had taken place and a ready reminder of what was easily one of the most unpleasant, traumatic days of her life. However, compared to droning statistics and constant slights on her "unrefined manners", Katara considered this the lesser of two evils.

It was the most pretentious part of the whole palace because it was the area most frequently in the public eye. She vaguely remembered Lady Ai mentioning something about the grand eastern hall also paying homage to the Fire God, Agni, by way of greeting the sunrise, but mostly it just seemed built to intimidate. The high ceilings seemed to go on forever, up and up and up. The larger-than-life fire emblem banners only added to the ominous feel of the place. Katara couldn't help but let her eyes travel up to their point of origin in the dark recesses of the ceiling.

And because of this, she was caught completely off guard when her center of gravity violently shifted. She was dipped back sharply, her head coming to a jarring halt only an inch or two above the ground.

"Whoops!"

Katara suddenly found herself staring up into expressive brown eyes and an alarmingly cheerful grin. It was disconcerting, considering the strange girl's head was framed by the oppressive, ornamental palace doors. The gilded dragon lock curled around the newcomer's head like a thorny halo.

"Sorry about that! I thought you'd see me coming your way!" The bubbly girl trilled as she yanked Katara back to her feet.

The girl was decked out from head to toe in light pink (though still unmistakably Fire Nation in style with the sharp angles of the collar with flared out to a point over each shoulder), her long brown hair pulled back into a perky, but elegant braid that trailed down her back. "Gee," she continued good-naturedly, her gaze flicking invasively over Katara, "You're a lot prettier than I was expecting you to be."

Katara took a step back, self-consciously wrapping her arms around her bare stomach, "E-excuse me?"

The girl plowed on, evidently unaware of her insult. "I'm Ty Lee! You must be Princess Katara!"

"Just Katara, please," she replied automatically.

"Okay Katara!" Ty Lee beamed, linking her arm around Katara's. "Wow, you really are nothing like Mai said you were."

Katara tilted her head to the side and the memory of Zuko's pet iguana-seal rolled to the forefront of her mind. "Oh?" Funny, she wasn't aware that giant lizard-things could talk, let alone gossip.

"M-hmm!" Ty Lee nodded as she began to steer them out of the eastern wing (and back towards Lady Ai's territory). "She said you were a bit wild-eyed and that your hair looked like it hadn't ever seen a brush before." A hand then launched out and gently latched onto a lock of Katara's hair, which slipped easily through her fingers.

Katara unlinked their arms under the pretense covering her mouth to cough, and then promptly crossed her arms behind her back.

The pink girl laughed. "Oh Mai," she sighed, wistfully shaking her head. "I suppose she was just upset when she told me those things, can't blame her! You seem nice enough though! In fact, I'm sure we'll become the best of friends!"

"Sure," Katara said, bemused and bewildered. "So… who's Mai?"

Ty Lee stopped mid-step and pivoted around to face Katara. Her eyes widened like saucers. "You mean Zuko didn't tell you?"

"Tell me… what, exactly?"

"That he was engaged, silly!" Ty Lee started pacing. "Oh, Zuko's gonna get it when she finds out!" She glanced back at Katara, who still hadn't quite processed the new information. "That's actually why I'm here." She patted a scroll tucked into the sash around her waist. "Mai wanted me to deliver this letter to Zuko."

Things started to make a lot of sense; why Zuko was so ready to just throw himself into a strategically loveless marriage… so he could spend his time with his true love. _That conniving, manipulative little_… Katara leaned against the wall and slid down into a lump on the floor. "I can't believe that Lord Iroh would go out and make me come here if Zuko was already-"

"Oh no!" Ty Lee butt in, "it was all secret, Zuko hadn't had a chance to tell his uncle before the whole 'marry for diplomacy' thing came up."

"Well then why didn't Zuko say something!" Katara shrieked. A sick, curdling feeling settled in her stomach and she didn't like it at all. "If he was in love with another girl, he never should have agreed to this!"

"Katara… he didn't have a choice," Ty Lee explained solemnly. "It was either take a foreign bride, or face another war. After everything his uncle worked for, Zuko couldn't tell him no."

Katara felt like a home-wrecker and it made her want to cry. No wonder Zuko hated her.

-Swish-

As if things needed to get any worse...

"Ty Lee," the unmistakably sharp-tongued Lady Ai snapped, "What business do you have here? And Princess Katara, why on earth are you slumped over on the floor? You look like a street urchin!" The lady kneeled gracefully and tugged Katara's chin up. "Are you… crying?" She looked back over her shoulder at Ty Lee. "What have you said to her?"

"Umm…" Ty Lee rubbed the back of her head bashfully. "I may have said something I shouldn't have…"

"You told her about Zuko's engagement to Mai, didn't you?"

Ty Lee's jaw slackened. "No one was supposed to know about that!"

Lady Ai stood and gave her a pointed look, hands on her hips. "Go on Ty Lee, you've done enough damage for one day."

"But I have to deliver this message!" She yanked the scroll from her sash and held it up beseechingly.

Lady Ai's eyes flashed. "Then do it! But don't you dare go causing more trouble- and that includes telling Prince Zuko about your disastrous meeting with the Princess. Now, get out of my sight. I have to attend to my weepy protégé."

Ty Lee shrugged and tucked the scroll away. Then she folded like a ragdoll onto her hands and walked out of sight, one palm in front of the other, her ankles dangling just above her head.

"What _is_ she?" Katara asked, momentarily distracted from her distress by the bizarre departure of Hurricane Ty Lee.

"One of Azula's old playmates," Lady Ai replied absently. "Now up on your feet! We can't have you sulking like this; it'll ruin your posture and give you wrinkles."

Thankfully, Lady Ai took pity on Katara and postponed the grain lecture in favor of a trip to the royal spa. There, she didn't force Katara to talk, or try to compensate for Zuko's behavior, or comment on the natural injustice of the situation and the requirements of royal court and diplomacy. Instead, they relaxed, allowing the attendance to comb, massage, and buff all their troubles away.

When it became time to part ways, Lady Ai paused at the doorway, "You might want to discuss with Zuko the repercussions of his dishonesty and discourage him from such behavior in the future."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

An uncharacteristically devious smirk flitted across Lady Ai's lips, but it was gone so fast Katara wasn't entirely convinced she hadn't imagine it.

"Oh, I don't know," her tone of voice suggested a shrug, but Lady Ai was above such common gestures. "You handled yourself fairly well when he foolishly tried to snub you. I'm sure you'll think of _something_ when you take your tea with him this afternoon. After all, a future Fire Lady must learn how to curb her husband's baser habits."

It took Katara a moment to process the paradigm shift Lady Ai had caused. Was she actively promoting mischief? Fun? It was almost too much to digest in one day. The emotionally stunted, socially awkward Fire Prince has a more active love-life than her. _Azula's_ childhood friend rivaled Sokka in indelicacy and peppiness. At this point she wouldn't be entirely shocked if Zuko's fiancé _was_ a talking iguana-seal…

* * *

When Zuko arrived for afternoon tea with Katara, even _he_ couldn't miss the animosity radiating off the girl. He frantically searched for something he could say to abate the situation, and noticed the extra sheen to her hair and a familiar rosy scent which typically indicated a trip to the royal spa. "You… look nice," he tried.

Not five minutes later, Katara was stomping her way back into the palace, leaving Zuko pinned by various tea-wrought icicles to a near-by tree. "I thought you wanted to try and be friends!" He yelled at her.

Katara didn't bother turning around and yelled in reply, "Oh, go cry to your iguana-seal!"

As was typically the case when Katara was behaving maliciously to the prince, she soon encountered Fire Lord Iroh. And predictably, he grinned at her in that knowing, conspiratorial way. She held back a groan. This was decidedly not good timing. She was having some trouble coming to grips with the fact that Iroh would be so heavy handed with his own nephew's love life –not to mention the turmoil his actions were putting _her_ through. Somehow, knowing about Zuko's old flame reignited some of the misery she felt in her first few days at the palace.

"Miss Katara," he boomed. "My, I feel like I haven't seen hide nor hair of you in days! Tell me, how are things going with my nephew?"

Katara opened her mouth to answer, but quickly closed it, thinking better than to share the truth of the matter just yet. Swiftly, she changed tactics and responded to his question with one of her own. "That's right! I haven't seen you since the sparring match, sir! Have you been extra busy lately? Is something going on?"

Iroh blinked, startled, but he composed himself almost immediately. "Funny you should say," he chuckled. "But never you mind; it's nothing too serious. It's just that I find myself with an unusual amount of correspondence to attend to. There are a few cities in the Earth Kingdom I'm attempting to develop a friendly rapport with, in particular a place called Gaoling. Ever heard of it?"

Katara shook her head. "No. We didn't get very deep into the Earth Kingdom on our trip."

"Ah," the Fire Lord nodded. "I see. Well, as luck would have it, it seems the city was rather displaced from the war. I've been hoping to use that to our advantage since they have so little to begrudge us for, on their own behalf at least."

"Oh," Katara replied, unable to stop herself from wondering whether or not the Fire Lord was sneakily trying to secure a back-up bride, in case she should fail. "Any luck?"

He smiled softly, "As a matter of fact, I've just about convinced them of the benefits of a diplomatic trip to the Fire Nation. With any luck, we will be hosting a few foreign dignitaries within a month."

The Fire Lord's happiness and positive nature was infectious. Katara soon found herself smiling right back at him.

"Speaking of correspondence," Iroh began, "Have you any letters you'd like to send home? I have it on good authority a supply ship is heading out that way first thing tomorrow morning. I'm sure your family is dying to hear from you!"

* * *

By noon the next day, Katara's letter was safely bound for the Southern Water Tribe. She mentally plotted how long it would take for the ship to arrive, and how long it would take for her to get a reply back. A three-day voyage each way, and at least a day or two in port… She'd hear back from her family in a week, at the absolute earliest. Just in time for her to miss them terribly for her birthday. Thinking about it reminded her of the dagger Sokka had hidden amongst her belongings – his birthday present to her. Having had few things in her life to really grow attached to, Katara was not by nature a very sentimental person. Yet, at that moment, she _needed_ to see her brother's dagger just as fervently as she _needed_ to wear her mother's necklace every day.

She retrieved it from the back of her vanity drawer. It was silly, she fully realized, worrying about being caught with such a weapon when she could readily create something just as deadly as long as she had a bit of water around – Zuko certainly was a testament to that fact what with her furious tea-bending the previous afternoon. Still, it was a special, thoughtful, beautiful gift (that Suki had probably helped Sokka pick out) and Katara felt no shame in wanting to keep it safe.

She ran her fingers lightly over the indented floral detail on the leather sheath before pulling the dagger out. She held the shiny blade up to the light to admire the craftsmanship, the lovely etched detailing on the polished metal, the matched design on the handle. It was a truly a work of art, despite it's being a rather deadly looking weapon.

Zuko rudely chose that moment to burst into Katara's room. She looked at him, her mouth gaping at the audacity of the Fire Prince, who apparently had skewed notions of privacy and couldn't have experienced any of Lady Ai's long-winded lectures on propriety.

"Katara we need to talk!" He blurted out, charging boldly into her room. "I-" He stopped rather abruptly and took a hasty step backwards. "What… what exactly are you planning on doing with that dagger?"

* * *

**AN:** Did I mention I had fun with this chapter? Because I did. The whole thing was written up in about three days (I had a midterm to not study for). The editing job might be a bit shoddy because it's limited to the read-throughs I do during the writing/posting process... So if you catch some horrible error, please point it out to me in embarrassing detail.

I've gotta say, I'm really liking Lady Ai more and more. She's a stickler for the rules and propriety, but she's a badass on the weekends.

Ty Lee is great. I had a hoot writing her character. Please tell me whether or not I did her justice, okay?

Oh, and Zuko? He's a terrible liar. He couldn't have fooled an infant with that inarticulately delivered load of crock. Katara, however, just naturally assumed he had no game with the ladies - keeping the truth a nice, sound sucker punch to her gut.

Got to admit though, there's something to the whole Mai-as-giant-lizard thing.

...Don't worry, she's not going to fall victim of character-bashing. But you didn't think she'd just disappear to the shadows for ever, did you? After all, she_ is_ a heart-broken teenaged girl. And I'm almost positive she possesses a soul. (No really, I mean it: no character-bashing!)

None of you guys thought I forgot about Sokka's dagger, did you? Because I didn't. Totally forgot my original intentions for it, but the dagger itself is safe and sound in my mind and will hopefully be as loaded as Chekhov's pistol. Or a red herring. Haven't decided yet.

No idea when the next chapter will be up and running, however you can keep yourselves busy trying to piece together the little tid-bits of foreshadowing I've sprinkled through this chapter. That said, I am very pleased with how things are going.

Ugh. I just realized that my initial descriptions of the Fire Nation palace are NOT accurate to canon. Revisions will occur... eventually.

Peace, love, and review,

_-Electric Risk-_


End file.
